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Examining The Sixers’ 2019 Draft

June 21st, 2019 at 4:23pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers traded up four spots for Matisse Thybulle but outside of the prospect, the team didn’t add much immediate help in this year’s draft.

To move up to No. 20, Philadelphia had to surrender No. 24 and No. 33, the latter of which became Carsen Edwards—a three-point maestro. Edwards will play for the Celtics next season and could have a role right away depending on what happens with Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier.

The team sent the No. 42 pick to the Wizards in the Jonathon Simmons deal and dished the No. 34 pick to the Hawks for the No. 57 (later traded to the Pistons) and two future second-rounders. In total, the Sixers turned a late first-rounder and four second-rounders into Thybulle, Marial Shayok (No. 54 overall pick from Iowa State), a pair of future second-rounders and cash considerations.

Make no mistake, the draft wasn’t a trainwreck for Elton Brand, despite what Sixers’ Twitter may lead you to believe. Thybulle is a talented prospect. He’s a tremendous defender and he has the potential to be a premier wing in the league. While his ceiling is likely an ideal third-or-fourth best option, he’s the type of player that can elevate a team with established stars in place.

“When we saw him on the board, [and] a few other players in our box that we liked were gone, and he was our target,” Brand said (via Derek Bodner of The Athletic). “We had to move up to get him. Whatever it took. Dealing with whatever team. I had to get it done.”

Thybulle had long been rumored as a target for the Sixers. The wing didn’t work out for any teams leading up to the draft, signaling that he may have received a draft promise from a team.

“Philly showed interest early and we just trusted them, and decided that we were going to put our faith in them and kind of shut things down,” Thybulle said when asked about not having many workouts.

Many draft experts were able to connect the dots between the Washington prospect and the Sixers. The Celtics did the same thing, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com notes.

Just as former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie caught on to the Magic’s interest in Elfrid Payton back in 2014—Philly netted a first-round pick by simply implying they were also interested in the point guard and forcing Orlando to move up—the Celtics used wide-spread information against a rival team. Boston said they had interest in Thybulle and was able to bring in a second-rounder as a result.

Admittedly, Philadelphia’s use of second-round picks in this draft is puzzling. The No. 33 pick aside, there were seemingly players available who could have helped the team. Bruno Fernando (drafted at No. 34) stood out as someone whom the team could groom, with the franchise alternating minutes between the Maryland prospect and Jonah Bolden at the five on games where Joel Embiid sat out.

Philadelphia will have multiple second-round picks again next year with Atlanta’s 2020 selection coming in addition to a pick from either Brooklyn or New York (originally acquired from trading the 2015 No. 35 overall pick to the Knicks before the team made additional trades to complicate the projections) and one coming from Dallas (Nerlens Noel trade).

Wolves Interested In McConnell; Harris Interested In Wolves?

June 21st, 2019 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Wolfson (Twitter link) hears that Sixers veteran T.J. McConnell is among the free agent point guards on Minnesota’s radar.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 (Twitter link) has heard that free-agent-to-be Tobias Harris has interest in the Timberwolves. That looks like a very unlikely pairing though, since Minnesota has no path to cap room and the Sixers won’t be eager to accommodate a sign-and-trade.

Sixers Trade Jonathon Simmons, No. 42 Pick To Wizards

June 21st, 2019 at 1:15am CST by clarkcrum

JUNE 21: The trade is official, according to a press release from the NBA.

JUNE 20: The Sixers are trading Jonathon Simmons and the No. 42 overall pick (Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield) to the Wizards for cash considerations, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, the Wizards are likely to acquire Simmons with the $6MM trade exception they created in the Otto Porter trade. Marks further notes that Simmons has $1MM in guaranteed salary for next season, with the $4.7MM in remaining salary for the 2019/20 season guaranteed if the 29-year-old guard is not waived by July 1.

The trade will enable the Sixers to create $1MM in more cap space in the unlikely event that Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris both leave in free agency.

Woj: Kawhi Could Meet With Knicks, Nets, Sixers

June 21st, 2019 at 12:56am CST by Luke Adams

While the Raptors and Clippers are still considered the frontrunners to sign Kawhi Leonard, Wojnarowski hears that Leonard may take free agents meetings with the Knicks and perhaps the Nets and Sixers as well (Twitter link via Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com).

Pistons Acquire No. 57 Pick Jordan Bone

June 20th, 2019 at 11:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 7: The Pistons’ deal with the Sixers for Bone’s draft rights is now official, according to the 76ers’ Twitter account.

JUNE 20: The Pistons have agreed to acquire the No. 57 pick from the Sixers and will select Tennessee guard Jordan Bone, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Sixers will receive $2MM and a 2024 second-rounder that the Heat owed the Pistons in return for Bone, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

Bone averaged 13.5 PPG and 5.8 APG in his final college year with the Vols.

The 6’3” Bone gives the Pistons more depth at the point guard position. Ish Smith, who backed up Reggie Jackson in recent years, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Sixers Acquire No. 20 From Celtics For Nos. 24, 33

June 20th, 2019 at 8:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 21: The trade is now official, per an NBA press release.

JUNE 20: The Celtics and Sixers have agreed on a draft-night trade, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Philadelphia is acquiring the No. 20 pick and using it to draft Washington forward Matisse Thybulle.

In exchange for the pick, Boston will acquire the 24th and 33rd overall selections from the 76ers.

The Sixers had made a promise to Thybulle with the No. 24 pick, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets. They apparently had concerns another team also had their eyes on Thybulle, whom O’Connor notes is a multi-positional defender who can blend his offensive game with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Thybulle, a senior 6’5” guard, averaged a modest 9.1 PPG in his final college season. However, his defensive stats were impressive, as he averaged 3.5 SPG and 2.3 BPG.

He averaged 11.2 PPG as a junior.

The trade at least temporarily gave the Celtics three first-round selections.

Draft-Night Notes: Bazley, Thunder, Bulls, Suns

June 20th, 2019 at 8:13pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Some teams holding mid-first-round picks have expressed interest in forward Darius Bazley and he could go earlier than projected, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. A McDonald’s All-American, Bazley didn’t go to college and instead spent the year preparing for the draft.

We have more draft nuggets:

The Thunder are engaged in trade talk with teams to move back in first round from the No. 21 pick, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The Bulls didn’t shop shooting guard Zach LaVine when they explored ways to move up in the lottery, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Chicago wound up holding onto the No. 7 pick and selecting North Carolina point guard Coby White. LaVine has three years and $58.5MM remaining on his contract.
The Suns’ selection of North Carolina power forward Cameron Johnson at No. 11 after trading down from the No. 6 pick earlier in the day was the surprise of the lottery. According to SInow’s Jake Fischer, it was an even bigger surprise due to injury concerns. Several teams red-flagged Johnson out of the first round due to his history of ailments on both hips (Twitter link).
The Sixers are trying to move up from the No. 24 pick, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. They’re hoping to snag either UNC small forward Nassir Little or USC shooting guard Kevin Porter Jr. and could wind up with one of them even if they don’t make a deal, Pompey adds.

Western Notes: Rockets, No. 4, Davis, Holiday

June 20th, 2019 at 2:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Houston intends to aggressively pursue Jimmy Butler in free agency and Kelly Iko of The Athletic hears that the Rockets will be just as determined to land Butler now as they were in prior to Minnesota dealing him to the Sixers. GM Daryl Morey reportedly offered four first-round picks in exchange for Butler during the season.

It’s no secret that the Rockets are looking to shake up their roster this offseason. They continue to discuss trades involving Clint Capela, and Iko hears that they’ve discussed sending him to the Pelicans for the No. 4 overall pick. In that scenario, Houston would look to insert that pick into a package in order to land another player.

Here’s more from Houston and rest of the Western Conference:

The Rockets had interested in trading for Anthony Davis and reached out to the Pelicans prior to New Orleans making the deal with the Lakers. Houston was aware that it wasn’t high on Davis’ preferences and that a trade was not likely to happen.
The Lakers could have asked Davis if he’d waive his trade bonus of roughly $4.1MM in order to make salary-matching easier, but they never broached it during negotiations, league sources tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Los Angeles is still attempting to maximize its cap room for an additional star after agreeing to the Davis deal.
Several NBA executives are skeptical that the Lakers can build a title-winning team around Davis and LeBron James after the haul they just gave up, Beck relays in the same piece. “[The] Lakers overpaid by a significant margin, given the conditions,” one executive said, adding, “Never let your GM be in a spot where he needs to make a trade to save his job.”
The Suns are not interested in Aaron Holiday, Phoenix-based radio host John Gambadoro tweets. J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star identified the Suns as one of a handful of teams that has interest in acquiring the Pacers point guard, mentioning the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Hawks as well.

Nets Debating Whether To Sign Irving Without Durant

June 19th, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Brooklyn is believed to be Kyrie Irving‘s top choice in free agency, but Nets officials aren’t unanimous in wanting him if they don’t sign Kevin Durant as well, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.

Adding Irving would mean giving up on restricted free agent D’Angelo Russell, who is a younger and less expensive option and who blossomed into a star during his two years in Brooklyn.

Irving is eligible for a four-year, $141MM contract with a starting salary of $32MM, while a max deal for Russell would pay him $117MM over four years, starting at $27MM. Russell also strongly wants to stay in Brooklyn, telling Lewis he hopes to be a “Net for life.”

“If we’re being completely honest, I enjoyed the team that we had this whole season,” Russell said. “I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy our team and the pieces we had around.”

Lewis notes that some teams expected to pursue Irving have backed away because of the turmoil that surrounded him in Boston.

With Russell’s cap hold in place, the Nets have about $46MM in cap space, but that number grows to nearly $68MM if he is renounced, enough for two max offers. Lewis adds that if they don’t land Irving and Durant, then Sixers forward Tobias Harris and Celtics big man Al Horford could be considered for those deals.

Latest On The Mike Conley Trade

June 19th, 2019 at 6:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz had been targeting Mike Conley for months before pulling off today’s trade with Memphis, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Utah made a strong push to get Conley before the February deadline, offering Ricky Rubio, two first-round picks and other expiring contracts that would have provided the Grizzlies with cap relief this summer.

Jones cites “frustration” among Jazz management, which believed Conley would be a difference maker in the postseason, when the offer wasn’t accepted. Utah finished with the fifth seed and a first-round playoff ouster.

“What we found out this year,” Jazz executive Dennis Lindsey said after the season ended, “is that while we were a good team, we weren’t a great team.”

The organization sees Conley as a path to becoming great, viewing him as one of the best pick-rand-roll guards in the league and a strong leader in the locker room. The Jazz were willing to pay a heavy price in the deal, giving up Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver and Grayson Allen, plus this year’s first-round pick and a future conditional first-rounder. Sources tell Jones the Grizzlies insisted on Allen because they wanted “a young player with upside” and were impressed by how he improved during the season.

There’s more fallout from today’s trade:

The Pistons and Pacers were both contenders for Conley, but were unwilling to surrender two first-round picks, reports Zach Lowe of ESPN. Sources tell Lowe that even if the Pistons had agreed to meet that price, they might have insisted that Memphis take back Reggie Jackson and his $18MM contract. The Pacers, meanwhile, refused to give up the picks plus first-year guard Aaron Holiday.
The Jazz needed to send enough salary to Memphis to enable them to guarantee Derrick Favors‘ $16.9MM contract for next season without going over the salary cap, Lowe adds. He states that the decision to include Crowder in the deal instead of Dante Exum shows a lot of faith in the 23-year-old guard.
Lowe also notes that the trade will have a ripple effect on free agency. Utah no longer has the cap space for a max-level offer, which means one less suitor for the Sixers’ Tobias Harris. Point guards who had been hoping for an offer from Utah will also be disappointed. In addition, the trade increases the likelihood that the pick the Grizzlies owe the Celtics won’t convey until 2021, when it will be unprotected. The selection has top-six protection next year.
Donovan Mitchell is thrilled to have Conley as his new backcourt partner, tweets Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News. “He’s a great player,” Mitchell said. “He’s very underrated in my opinion. He does a lot of getting into the lane and being able to find guys and also I can learn a lot from him so as far as being a point guard.”

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