Getty Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia 76ers
While the basketball world is getting ready to watch the NBA Finals, the Philadelphia 76ers front office will likely be in the lab, formulating a plan on how they can be the team representing the Eastern Conference next season.
Despite trading for James Harden at the February 10 trade deadline, the Sixers fell short, crashing out of the playoffs in the second round at the hands of the Miami Heat. Looking back, a large part of the Sixers’ troubles came from a lack of bench production and a limited number of players who could make a respectable impact on both sides of the floor.
With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale recently proposed a four-team trade that could provide the Sixers with some much-needed two-way depth, while only costing the team Mattisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz, and some draft capital. Overall, the trade looks like this;
- Denver Nuggets Receive: Matisse Thybulle
- Philadelphia 76ers Receive: Zeke Nnaji, Kenrich Williams, No. 30 pick
- Chicago Bulls Receive: Furkan Korkmaz (into Daniel Theis trade exception), 2023 second-round pick (via Philadelphia, second-most favorable from Atlanta, Brooklyn, Charlotte, or Philly), 2026 second-round pick (via OKC, top-55 protection)
- Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: No. 21 pick
“Philly shouldn’t flinch. It’s surrendering some defense but bolstering its versatility. Kenrich Williams is extremely plug-and-play at both ends, and Zeke Nnaji is a rock-solid floor-spacer and major upgrade to the backup-big rotation—especially if the Sixers can steal minutes with him at the 5.
The No. 30 pick is gravy and gives the Sixers two first-rounders with which they can fiddle. Moving Furkan Korkmaz’s $5 million salary into Chicago’s Daniel Theis TPE also makes Philly $2.5 million cheaper,” Favale detailed in his article.
Nnaji is the Headliner for Philadelphia
Thybulle is an unquestionable defensive talent, but his offensive limitations make him almost unplayable in the post-season, as detailed by his 3 points per game average through the 2022 post-season.
Nnaji would certainly provide additional scoring and floor spacing, both of which the Sixers are currently in desperate need of. With Harden and Joel Embiid expected to orchestrate the offense in the pick-and-roll, having legitimate sharpshooters on the perimeter is essential, add in the fact that Nnaji is reliable on defense and can provide a presence on the defensive and offensive glass, and trading for him would make sense.
Zeke Nnaji…it’s small NBA sample, but he’s at 47.7% from behind the arc in his career. The shooting feels real. Good form, good release, good timing. Has a history of hitting shots as a young player.
Denver has a pretty good young player not enough people are talking about.
Getting analytical for a moment, Nnaji is a low-usage scorer who ranked in the 23rd percentile of forwards this season, accounting for just 13.3% of the Denver Nuggets’ offense while on the floor, yet he finished the season in the 93rd percentile among forwards for three-point shooting after averaging 46.3% from deep on two attempts per game.
Overall, Nnaji is the sort of low-usage high-reliability scorer the Sixers need to surround Harden and Embiid with, and if the cost of bringing him into the rotation is Thybulle and Korkmaz, then taking a closer look at the deal would be a logical move.
Decision Have to be Made
Following an early exit from the post-season, it’s clear the Sixers are in need of some new blood, and while they’re certainly not edging towards a rebuild, re-tooling the roster is their best chance at working towards making the NBA Finals next season.
Embiid and Harden are two unique players, and while Harden is no longer the superstar scorer he once was, his contributions are still that of an elite talent within the league. In his 21 regular-season games for the Sixers, Harden averaged 21 points, 10.5 assists, and 7.1 rebounds per game – there aren’t many players that can give you such a well-rounded impact in the league, especially from the guard position.
I love Sixers basketball but I’m ready for some retooling. There’s a lot of funky players on this team. I’m not sure they’re getting used in a way that maximises them. Still excited to see what’s next
As such, making decisions on the future of Tobias Harris, Thybulle, Shake Milton, and any other role player that doesn’t fit with what the new offense projects to look like, is integral. After all, if you want to keep your star players around long-term, you have to show them you’re committed to challenging for the biggest prize in basketball.
Daryl Morey understands what it takes to build a contender, so we shouldn’t be shocked if we start to see movement shortly after the free agency period opens on August 2.