How Markelle Fultz landed the Sixers Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle

Tyrese Maxey is everything Philadelphia 76ers fans wanted Markelle Fultz to be.

Outside of his height – Fultz is three inches taller – Maxey has the same speed, same backcourt versatility, and has developed a jumper as reliable as the player once known as “Quick Wash.” Factor in Maxey’s infectious energy both on and off the court, and the Sixers are surely very, very, very happy with their homegrown point guard.

But that isn’t the only reason Maxey and Fultz will forever be linked.

No, basketball acumen aside, Tyrese Maxey – and Matisse Thybulle – wouldn’t be a member of the Philadelphia 76ers today if it wasn’t for Markelle Fultz because trading the latter secured the pick used on the former. If you know, you know, but if you don’t, well, get ready to take a trip down memory lane.

The Philadelphia 76ers landed two blue-chip prospects via one small trade.

The Philadelphia 76ers’ ownership group was reportedly torn on what to do about Markelle Fultz heading into the 2019 NBA trade deadline.

Some wanted to see the franchise move off of the reserve guard to free up a little over $8 million on cap space heading into the summer – a summer where both Jimmy Butler and newly acquired forward Tobias Harris were eligible for extensions – while others were hesitant to move off a player drafted first overall before the previous season.

Would the team ever be able to recoup the assets they surrendered to get Fultz in a red, white, and blue uniform? No, probably not; selecting Fultz over Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, or

Josh Jackson

De’Aaron Fox will forever be on the team’s draft day report card – even if the Fultz trade was contingent on not drafting Tatum – and the cost used to do so is sunk but getting something back for his services would at least help the team moving forward.

Once Elton Brand let it be known that he could secure a first for Fultz, even a protected one, the team signed off on a deal that would send 20 to the Orlando Magic for Jonathon Simmons, a 2019 second-round draft pick from the Cleveland Cavaliers and a top-20 protected 2020 first-round draft pick from the OKC Thunder.

Fast forward two years into the future, and the team was able to parlay those assets into Matisse Thybulle and Tyrese Maxey… yes, really.

You see, when Brand heavily televised that he wanted to draft Thybulle with the 24th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, then-Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge got cute. Despite not being particularly enamored with the idea of adding another defense-first guard who couldn’t shoot to his roster, Ainge held the pick hostage and demanded not only the 24th overall pick but the team’s first pick in the second round (34), which was acquired in the Fultz deal.

Considering the players Boston selected with those picks, Ty Jerome and Carsen Edwards, are no longer on the team, that deal is definitely a dub for the Sixers, especially if Thybulle can remain a starter alongside James Harden and Joel Embiid.

And then, almost one year later, another incredibly consequential stroke of good luck fell in Philly’s favor.

Despite trading away Russell Westbrook and Paul George in an effort to start a soft rebuild around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the 2019-20 Thunder were surprisingly good. Their three point guard tandem of SGA, Chris Paul, and Dennis Schroder meshed together exceptionally well, and the team entered the Orlando Bubble with the playoffs in their sights.

With their 2020 first-round pick long since traded away – initially to the Sixers alongside Ersan Ilyasova for Jerami Grant before being retouted to Orlando for Anžejs Pasečņiks, if you can believe it – and another pick via the Minnestoa Timberwolves already secured in the first round, the Thunder opted against tanking and went all-in on a playoff berth. In their penultimate game of the regular season, Mike Muscala hit a 3 pointer with five seconds to go to secure a one-point win over the Miami Heat and, in the process, guaranteed his team a pick outside of the top-20.

And who did Daryl Morey select with that pick, which fell 21st overall? Yeah, that would be the pride of Kentucky, Tyrese Maxey.

So there you go; two of the Philadelphia 76ers’ five current starters were landed using picks secured via the Markelle Fultz trade, and the franchise is in an infinitely better position now than they could have been if neither Tyrese Maxey nor Matisse Thybulle ended up in the City of Brotherly Love. With Fultz set to make his return to the court for the Orlando Magic on Monday from a 2021 torn ACL, let’s celebrate how one seemingly disappointing trade worked out for all parties involved.