BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 14: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots while guarded by Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics in the first quarter at TD Garden on October 16, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia 76ers signed Al Horford this summer on a a four-year contract worth $109 million.
Horford’s surprise departure from Boston made him one of the most sought-after bigs in free agency. The New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks were believed to have interest in Horford who eventually settled in with the Sixers.
Sixers rookie, Matisse Thybulle tells me that he liked the move.
“I was just a fan last year,” he told me.
A swingman out of Washington, any basketball pro will tell you that Thybulle was one of the best defenders in college basketball last season. Thybulle led the NCAA in steals per game (3.5). Thybulle also ranks 16th on the NCAA’s all-time steals list, and he’s the Pac-12’s all-time leader in steals, too.
“So, all the rumors were that Al Horford is the only guy in the East that can guard Joel,” Thybulle reveals to me.
“And now that we’ve got him on the team, it’s just like who’s going to stop them? And it isn’t like Al isn’t a force himself on offense. It’s like that one-two punch is going to be crazy.”
Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes saw it a bit different. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t a fan of that move,” Haynes told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
“I wasn’t a fan of it. I liked the team they had last year better than this year. But I don’t think it won’t work. They need shooters around Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid and I think they tried to patch some loose ends in the last year but ultimately I think hat’s going to prove fatal to them further into the season.”
The Sixers had big decisions to make this offseason: Do they re-sign Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick.
Well they let two of the three walk and kept Tobias Harris.
For those keeping score at home: Butler now a member of the Miami Heat, was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers last fall. The deal for Butler with the Minnesota Timberwolves shipped Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a 2020 second-round pick to the Timberwolves. In exchange, the Sixers received Butler and forward Justin Patton in the deal.
Butler averaged 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and four assists for the City of Brotherly Love during the 2018-2019 season.
He’ll be the star of the show with the Heat this coming season.
JJ Redick is now a veteran in a New Orleans Pelicans system that will compliment Lonzo Ball, Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart nicely.
Tobias Harris will look to fill Butler’s role in Philadelphia this season.
The Sixers begin training camp next week. Their preseason and regular season begins next month.