Getty Matisse Thybulle #22 of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Chicago Bulls (26-28) are on the hunt for defensive help on the perimeter. Their entire offseason was geared toward continuity only to realize they are at least short of the requisite firepower to achieve their mandated goal of a second-round playoff berth.
“From folks that I’ve spoken with around the league at the deadline…a name that should be paying attention to is Matisse Thybulle of the Philadelphia 76ers,” reported Brandon Scoop B. Robinson on ‘Ballin’ with Bally’ on the Bally Sports Network Twitter feed on February 8. “He has been the…attention-getter of a few teams including the Chicago Bulls as well as the Dallas Mavericks and a few other teams that need a defensive stopper.”
Just as with Cam Reddish getting traded from the New York Knicks, the Bulls had to sit idly by and watch Thybulle get dealt to the Portland Trail Blazers replacing Josh Hart who they traded for Reddish.
Thybulle was drafted 20th overall in 2019 – 13 picks after Bulls guard Coby White was selected.
Bulls general manager Marc Eversley was a member of the front office in Philadelphia when Thybulle was drafted. Their previous relationship put the Bulls among the favorites to land the 25-year-old stopper when he was available last year, according to Heavy Sports NBA insider, Sean Deveney.
“Eversley has had a fondness for Thybulle going back to early in his collegiate career at Washington, and was instrumental in pushing the Sixers to acquire him in the 2019 draft.
“A deal would likely require a third team if Philadelphia’s goal is to save money under the tax, but the Bulls would be a strong suitor if Thybulle is available.”
Teammate Joel Embiid is certainly a fan of Thybulle, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Personally, I would love to have him,” Embiid said of the possibility that Thybulle is traded. “I think he’s one of our better defenders, especially on the perimeter,” Embiid said. We don’t have a lot of guys that cause steals or blocks, and all that stuff, extra possessions. That takes extra possessions from the other teams.”
Fun fact: The 76ers are 10-0 when Matisse Thybulle plays 20+ minutes this season.
The 6-foot-5 wing quickly acclimated himself to the pro game notching back-to-back All-Defensive team selections in 2021 and 2022 but has quickly fallen by the wayside.
”He’s not playing fluid minutes because you’ve got James Harden, you’ve got Tyrese Maxey and you’ve even got De’Anthony Melton out there living their best lives,” Robinson said adding that Thybulle, “can stop your favorite swingman across the league. And so I think that’s something that you should pay attention to as the trade deadline looms on Thursday at three o’clock.”
More than the roster, despite his defensive prowess, Thybulle is a veritable liability on offense.
After shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc as a rookie, Thybulle has shot 30.1%, 31.3%, and 33.3% on threes in the seasons that followed. What’s worse, his overall field goal attempts have cratered to a career-worst 2.4 amid his low minutes.
Thybulle averaged nearly 22 minutes per game in his career coming into this season. He has seen his playing time fall precipitously to barely over 12 minutes per outing.
Bulls Could Still Send Coby White to Philadelphia
Previous notions of the Bulls landing Thybulle had them needing to find another team to take on Coby White’s contract since it was believed the Sixers were looking to duck the luxury tax, just as the Bulls have for most of their history.
White’s play has greatly improved this season even as his counting stats continue to underwhelm.
you really see the improvement in Coby White’s handles when he gets into those full-court sprints, his confidence in making cuts is night and day from last season
Even with more well-rounded White, it was not enticing enough to get the Sixers to part with Thybulle — they would have needed to add salary anyway. That might not be the hurdle it would be under most circumstances since Philly also has Shake Milton, 26, who found himself out of the rotation at one point this season.
Does a Coby White-Shake Milton, Matisse Thybulle Swap Make Sense?
Milton – averaging 9.6 points and shooting 38.9% from beyond the arc this year – is in the final year of a three-year, $4.9 million contract and will hit unrestricted free agency this coming offseason.
Thybulle is in the final year of his four-year, $12 million rookie deal and is headed for restricted free agency with an anticipated $6.25 qualifying offer, per Spotrac.
COBY WHITE FANS STAND UP
Barring a multi-team deal just as previous iterations had, this deal would have depended on Philadelphia thinking White gets them further in the postseason than Thybulle and/or Milton which could be a tough sell given the way he played in the Bulls’ five-game dismissal in the first round of the playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks last season as he went just 8-for-29 from deep range.