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The Philadelphia 76ers are linked to stars such as Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell, but it looks like that’s mostly wishful thinking for fans as the summer treks on.
It’s looking like the same core, plus a healthy James Harden, will be coming back next season and they’ll hope the squad takes a step forward as the championship quest continues.
Matisse Thybulle and Tobias Harris were dangled this offseason, but it doesn’t look like the Sixers received many bites. Harris has a $37 million contract for the upcoming year, so teams aren’t exactly lining up to trade for a player who is being paid like the star player but isn’t one himself.
Thybulle, on the other hand, is an interesting one as he was immensely valued coming into last season, but things went south for him in the playoffs. After he was ruled ineligible to play in road games against the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs, his stock took a hit after he lost his starting gig. He was never able to recover from that, and it led into trade rumors for the summer.
Sixers general manager appears to have put a rest to those rumors, however, as he said Thybulle is the most “under the radar” player on the roster going into the next season. That’s definitely an interesting thing to say about a player that wasn’t guaranteed to be on the roster.
Morey Believes in Thybulle
While he might not be the fan-favorite he was last year, Thybulle still has his share of supporters that still believe in him, and it looks like you can lump Morey in with that group.
Morey’s message from part of an “Ask Me Anything” session on Instagram, and Reddit user Ill-Refuse8431 was able to capture the moment.
This could prove to be an interesting message because it could inspire Thybulle to develop his game a bit more. It’s no secret he liked playing alongside James Harden, and his productivity did go up with the star guard in the lineup.
However, Thybulle still doesn’t possess a consistent three-point shot and that is a major issue in today’s NBA. It’s part of the reason his minutes dropped in the playoffs, and it’ll continue to be an issue for him next season if things don’t change.
Thybulle Due For Extension
The swingman was an older rookie coming into the NBA after spending four years in college, so while there is still time for him to develop a shot, warning signs that it won’t happen are there.
He’s due for a contract extension soon, and it seems like the Sixers are going to play the waiting game on that, according to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer.
“There hasn’t been traction on extension conversations with Thybulle, sources said,” Fischer reported. “Most extension dialogues don’t begin in earnest until summer approaches fall. But Thybulle may be the perfect case to buck the league’s recent trend of growing extension numbers. If the current trade market is an early indication of next summer’s free agency, Thybulle’s value could struggle to recover from a poor postseason showing, with his vaccination status further complicating matters. Perhaps there’s room for Thybulle to bet on himself in hopes of landing a richer deal next offseason.”
He’s going into his fourth year in the NBA, and if there was ever a time to prove himself, it would be now.
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