Philadelphia 76ers: Complete 2019 offseason grades

Trading up for Matisse Thybulle

The organization knew heading into this summer that every decision it made would have some sort of ramifications down the road — including those not held in high esteem. That, of course, beginning with the 2019 NBA Draft.

Typically, selecting beyond the top 20 picks only contains a certain amount of merit. In the case of the Sixers, an organization castigated for hoarding assets on a year-over-year basis, there was an obvious plan in place — which subsequently became Matisse Thybulle, and doing whatever necessary to get him.

Thybulle, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, was pegged as a primary target leading up to June 20. While the basketball world rustled up speculation about what the Sixers would do with each of their five draft spots, Elton Brand mellowed out behind the scenes. That was, until the Boston Celtics got in the picture — essentially strong-arming the organization to take action (frankly, they didn’t want to take). To obtain Thybulle, Brand and Co. surrendered pick Nos 24 and 33.

Though the execution of the draft strategy may have come off as less than ideal, Philly gained a valuable 3-and-D role player in the fracas — ultimately making it hard to dislike the move.

Grade: A-