The Philadelphia 76ers land James Harden and keep Matisse Thybulle too

Simple request: Listen to this while reading, folks; you deserve it.

Welp, it finally happened; James Edward Harden Jr. is a member of the Philadelphia 76ers.

The road here was long, there were ups, downs, and about a rumor a day for the better part of seven months, but in a true stroke of genius, Daryl Morey was able to secure his guy – the guy, if you ask me – for two firsts, Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond.

Notice which name was excluded from that list? Yeah, that’d be Matisse Thybulle, who really was untouchable alongside his fellow young star Tyrese Maxey.

And the best part? There is still plenty of time for more moves to be made, even if none will be as exciting, let alone impactful, as Daryl Morey’s now-signature Philadelphia 76ers trade.

Keeping Matisse Thybulle is a massive deal for the Philadelphia 76ers.

If Matisse Thybulle was the make-or-break player in a trade for James Harden, you make that deal. Yes, he is one of the best defensive players of this generation and can single-handedly turn the tide of a game like only so many players can across the association, but hey, in the modern-day NBA, you can find pretty good defenders for well below max contract money, especially with draft capital to burn.

Had the deal been Ben Simmons, Matisse Thybulle, and Andre Drummond for James Harden and Paul Millsap, Daryl Morey would have had enough draft capital to swing a secondary deal for a defensive-minded player, be that a guard, wing, or forward and the team would have been good.

But instead, Morey ponied up the picks, said goodbye to Curry, and kept three of his four best players while landing a former MVP.

*singing* 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Sixers.

Who is going to guard Kevin Durant in the playoffs? Thybulle. Who is going to guard Jimmy Butler? Thybulle. Who is going to space the field for Harden and Joel Embiid in clutch situations? Well, probably not Thybulle, but hey, when you have two of the best players in the world and keep two more shooters like Danny Green and Isaiah Joe – or a trade acquisition – on the court, it’s not too hard to hide the pride of Washington.

And hey, if Thybulle’s shoot finally starts to fall, even just at like 37 percent on three attempts per game, well, things are going to be a darn problem for other teams across the association.

Needless to say, this is an amazing day. Teams don’t often get to trade for a former MVP when they are still in his prime, let alone do so while retaining three of their four best players. Fans have a reason to be excited after months of maddening indecision, the Wells Fargo Center has a new perimeter scorer of a caliber they haven’t had since Allen Iverson, and Daryl Morey answered a ton of questions himself about how he wants to build a championship-level team. Will it work? Only time will tell, but for now, and especially tomorrow versus OKC, it’s time to clap your hands, everybody, for the Philadelphia 76ers.