Philadelphia 76ers: Fleeced again by Boston for a Washington guard

While Matisse Thybulle is among the best defenders in the draft, it doesn’t feel great to watch the Boston Celtics fleece the Philadelphia 76ers for another Washington guard.

Two summers ago, the Philadelphia 76ers traded two picks to the Boston Celtics to draft a 6-foot-5 guard out of Washington.

How did that one work out?

Now sure, technically the Celtics were probably going to draft Jayson Tatum anyway, and the Sacramento Kings pick turned into Romeo Langford, arguably one of the least offensively effective shooting guards in the entire draft (pro comp? Marcus Smart), but still, that trade will go down as one of the worst in NBA history, even if Markelle Fultz somehow turns it all around in Orlando – maybe even more so.

Fast forward two years almost to the day, and history has repeated itself: the Philadelphia 76ers traded their first round pick, and their best second-round pick to Danny Ainge and company to select Matisse Thybulle.

On the surface, the decision to draft Thybulle isn’t a bad one, even if his 3 point shooting percentage dropped to a career-low 30.5 percent on 4.2 attempts a game, but giving up their second best pick of a night – especially when so many good players are still on the board – just feels like a mistake.

While Thybulle may have ultimately been taken between the 20th and 24th overall selections, maybe even by Boston, there were just too many talented players still on the board to not at least take a shot at seeing how things shook out, especially with the team in a dire need for cheap, skilled bodies to fill out the roster.

Three bites at the proverbial apples are better than two, especially in the crapshoot that is a non-lottery draft pick.

Could Thybulle come in as a 22-year-old rookie and prove himself a capable 3-and-D winger from day 1 – albeit one with a fifth starter ceiling on a playoff team? Sure, but by trading up to secure the 6-foot-5 wingman’s rights, the Sixers hand delivered Ty Jerome and an additional second round pick to their longstanding divisional rivals: a bitter pill even if Matisse Thybulle pans out.

Update: Boston subsequently traded Ty Jerome and Aron Baynes to the Phoenix Suns for the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 2020 first round pick as per WOJ.