Philadelphia 76ers: Garrison Mathews is a Daryl Morey trade darling

Daryl Morey is a massive fan of advanced analytics.

The leading proponent of “Morey Ball,” a phrase I wish would have caught on more, be brought MIT-style statistical analysis to the NBA and routinely built teams around what made the most sense numerically, even if it led to some, shall we say, unique looks like having one-time Philadelphia 76ers small forward Robert Covington play center with the Rockets.

While Morey’s run in Philly is far shorter than his time in Houston, there are already multiple “Morey Ball” trades on his resume for the red, white, and blue, like flipping Al Horford for Danny Green and swapping  Josh Richardson and a second-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks for Seth Curry.

So naturally, with the trade deadline hours away, I scoured the advanced analytics, from Cleaning the Glass to FiveThirtyEight, and tried to find an under-the-radar player who has statistically outperformed his perception and could be a logical target for Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers and guess what? I found a player who perfectly fits the bill and get this: He actually plays for the Houston Rockets.

Garrison Mathews would fit perfectly with the Philadelphia 76ers.

According to FiveThirtyEight, there are 23 players in the NBA with a Total Raptor Rating of +4.0 or higher. Of those players, most are either outright stars or proven starters, with only three, Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr., and Garrison Mathews, playing on low-money free agent contracts.

Would the Philadelphia 76ers like to acquire either Payton or Porter from the Golden State Warriors? Sure. Porter specifically would perfectly fit into the Sixers’ frontcourt, but with the Warriors on pace to make it to the Western Conference Finals at the bare minimum, that feels like a longshot.

But Mathews? He seems far more getable.

The pride of Franklin HS in Franklin, Tennessee, Mathews came into the NBA as a UDFA out of Lipscomb and bounced around the association for the first three years of his professional career, playing two seasons with the Washington Wizards before spending a summer with the Boston Celtics in 2021. From there, he was claimed off of waivers by the Houston Rockets and signed a two-way deal with the team in the lead up to the 2021-22 season, joining Daishen Nix on the uniquely in-between contract.

After waiting on the bench for roughly the first month of the regular season, Mathews caught fire for the Rockets in the back half of November and steadily became a part of Stephen Silas’ regular rotation. While he isn’t, like, talking the association by storm a la Linsanity, Mathews scored 20-plus points on five separate occasions so far this season and currently sits pretty with a stat line of 11.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 27.4 minutes of action. Mathew is an above-average shooter, hitting 37.7 percent of his 6.6 shots from beyond the arc per game, a smart off-ball mover, and a plus-defender according to FiveThirtyEight.

And the best part? Mathews is signed to a four-year, mostly non-guaranteed $8.2 million contract that locks him in through the 2024-25 season at a very team-friendly cap hit.

Alright, so if Mathews is such a solid performer, why would the Rockets want to trade him away? One word: Age.

Because he played four collegiate seasons and is three seasons into his NBA career,  Mathews is already 25-years-old, which is four years older than Kevin Porter Jr., five years older than Jalen Green, and six years older than Alperen Şengün. Furkan Korkmaz, who has been in the NBA since 2017, is almost a year younger than Mathews and even if he can extend his current statistical efforts out over the entire duration of his current contract, the upside in playing Lipscomb’s finest is lower than giving minutes to a much younger player with a higher ceiling.

On a team like the Sixers, Mathews could be an asset. On a team like the Rockets, who are a few seasons away from being back in contention, Mathew is less of an asset than, say, a young player like Paul Reed and a second-round pick.

Back in the “glory days” of The Process, Sam Hinkie would routinely trade away promising players for second-round picks because he knew said player would all but surely be gone or undervalued once it was time for the Philadelphia 76ers to compete. It happened with K.J. McDaniels, Ish Smith, and many others too numerous to relay. In Garrison Mathews, the Houston Rockets secured one of those lucky breaks who has performed better in their uniform than that of the Washington Wizards or the Boston Celtics. While they could hold onto his services for the duration of his contract, when he will be almost 29-years-old, they could just as easily ship him to Philadelphia in a deal that buys them another bite at the apple and a younger player worth developing.