Daryl Morey Explains Why Sixers Replaced Matisse Thybulle

The Philadelphia 76ers changed up their roster on Thursday afternoon. With the trade market closing, the Sixers only had a couple of hours before their opportunity to make deals with other teams would soon be restricted. That led the Sixers to make a deal, dishing out Matisse Thybulle and a draft pick to acquire Jalen McDaniels and two draft picks.

For the first time in his professional career, Thybulle will play for an organization other than the Sixers. After getting drafted by the Sixers during the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft, Thybulle carved out a role for himself right off the bat.

And for the last four years, Thybulle’s been a contributor to the Sixers. However, he’ll get a fresh start after being traded on Thursday. On Friday morning, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey addressed the trade, bidding farewell to Thybulle.

“First want to say thank you to Matisse,” said Morey. “Great run here. He gave us a lot of great minutes, became a fan favorite, and we wish him all the best in Portland. We know he's gonna have a long NBA career.”

Thybulle was no stranger to hearing his name included in trade rumors. Over the last couple of seasons, Thybulle was in the mix to potentially get traded on numerous occasions. However, he always stuck around beyond the deadline. Last year, Thybulle’s name was included in the blockbuster trade that landed the Sixers James Harden. During the post-trade deadline press conference, Morey went as far as nearly labeling Thybulle untouchable.

Just one year later, that ended up being untrue. So, what changed this time around?

“Some of it was just we think Jalen can really help,” said Morey. “Some of it was the challenges of what's to come, which are the wars in the playoffs, and we think Jalen will be someone who can be easier for Doc to keep on the floor during tough times in the playoffs.”

While constructing the Sixers’ roster, Morey always had the playoffs in mind since the Sixers lost in the second round of the postseason last year. For Thybulle, he was coming off of one of his worst showings beyond the regular season as he averaged three points, one rebound, and one steal while taking just three shots per game, knocking down 29 percent of his threes in nine games.

“It's a little bit more, just easier to keep him on the floor if that makes sense,” Morey said in regards to McDaniels while comparing him to Thybulle. “I think it's pretty straightforward. If you're making it harder for the team on offense, I think it makes it harder to keep you on the floor defensively.”

McDaniels joined the Sixers late last week and made his debut with the team on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets. The Sixers will look to get him comfortable in a role off the bench as the regular season begins to wind down.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.