This time, the Sixers’ Matisse Thybulle is not stressing at the trade deadline
Thybulle on dealing with potentially being traded: “I think it helps, too, that it’s not my first rodeo.”
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Matisse Thybulle used to let being mentioned in possible trades bother him.
Not this time.
Realizing he could be moved before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, the 76ers shooting guard was still in good spirits Wednesday night.
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“I think it helps, too, that it’s not my first rodeo,” Thybulle said following the Sixers’ 105-94 victory over the Orlando Magic at the Wells Fargo Center.
“And every single year is kind of like the same situation,” he added. “You are not going to get traded until the very last minute; it’s like you don’t. … So I’ve gone all the way there until it actually happens. So, at this point, I kind of know the ropes and it helps that my family does as well.”
Multiple NBA sources said the Golden State Warriors have had internal discussions about Thybulle and that they like him as a defensive stopper. The Sacramento Kings are also monitoring his availability. A league source said Kings coach Mike Brown is a fan of Thybulle, who would add a defensive presence to Sacramento’s starting lineup.
The two-time second-team All-Defensive selection could be moved for the right price.
All this comes after Thybulle was shopped last summer. Sources said the Sixers even attempted to trade him to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft night as part of a three-team deal that would have brought the Houston Rockets’ Eric Gordon to Philly.
But Thybulle being mentioned in trade discussions began long before last summer.
The difference was, back then, he was deemed untouchable.
The Sixers told that to the Toronto Raptors when they were trying to acquire former Raptors standout Kyle Lowry before the 2021 NBA trade deadline. They also declined to include Thybulle in the package to acquire James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets at last season’s deadline.
But Thybulle no longer has the same equity with the franchise. He played only 9 minutes, 30 seconds on Wednesday, finishing with two points and two rebounds. He was a plus-7.
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“The one thing that people don’t realize is you can protect yourself from this stuff,” he said. “But when you have your grandma or your dad or your brother calling you — ‘Yo, where are you going to get traded?’ — that adds to a lot of stress.
“So like now that I have been through it three years in a row, they know whatever rumors that they see are just rumors and I’ll tell them if anything is going to happen.”