Matisse Thybulle Wants to Retire with 76ers Despite Link to Eric Gordon Trade Rumors

Philadelphia 76ers wing Matisse Thybulle doesn't want to leave the City of Brotherly Love anytime soon.

"At this point, I would always want to stay in Philly," he said to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey. "And if it’s up to me, that’s always going to be my choice."

However, Thybulle acknowledged the Sixers ultimately hold most of the cards.

"But considering that I’ve realized the reality of how far out of my control it is, if I do get traded or something does end up happening, I can look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day," he told Pompey.

Pompey reported in June that Philadelphia was angling to land Eric Gordon from the Houston Rockets and discussed Thybulle as part of a possible trade package.

The 6'5" guard was exactly as advertised on defense when the 76ers selected him in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft. Through three years, he's averaging 1.6 steals and 1.0 block per game, and he's twice been named to the NBA All-Defensive second team.

However, his offensive limitations are glaring. He's shooting 32.4 percent from beyond the arc to this point, and his inability to space the floor becomes an issue in the postseason.

Thybulle went 4-of-14 on three-pointers during Philadelphia's 2022 postseason run, a spell in which his playing time (15.2 minutes per game) fell dramatically from his regular season usage (25.5 minutes per game).

As much as Thybulle gives the Sixers on defense, the pursuit of Eric Gordon speaks for itself. The team was possibly willing to accept a downgrade on defense in return for a player who knocked down 2.2 threes per game and shot 41.2 percent from the perimeter last season.

76ers head coach Doc Rivers told Pompey he "couldn’t be happier in the way Tisse has attacked the summer."

"He’s been one of our hardest workers," Rivers said. "He’s worked both on the things we needed him to work on the floor, and on his body and strength."

Based on the absence of a trade to this point, it's safe to assume Thybulle will open the 2022-23 season in Philadelphia. If he can show some improvement with his jumper, then it might shut the door on a trade for the foreseeable future, too.