Sixers Duck Luxury Tax, Round Out Rotation With Matisse Thybulle-Jalen McDaniels Trade

As the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers were busy upending the NBA with blockbuster trades, the Philadelphia 76ers took a more measured approach to the 2023 trade deadline.

In their only deal on Thursday, the Sixers acquired Charlotte Hornets forward Jalen McDaniels, the New York Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick and the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2029 second-round pick while sending swingman Matisse Thybulle to Portland and the Hornets’ 2023 second-round pick back to Charlotte, according to multiple reports. In doing so, they accomplished two of their goals simultaneously: ducking below the NBA’s luxury-tax line and rounding out their rotation with a more balanced player who could factor into their playoff rotation.

Leading up to the trade deadline, Sixers team president Daryl Morey telegraphed that he didn’t have any huge moves up his sleeve.

“If you overlap players who would play in our playoff rotation with the players that are available, especially with so many teams who feel that they are in it with the play-in game, it gets down to a very small group of players,” Morey said during an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic’s Anthony Gargano Show late last month. “It’s not zero, but it’s not a big group of players.”

Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice reported in late January that it did “not appear a big move is in the works” for the Sixers. Instead, he said it was “more likely they bring in a player who is simply different than their current guys, rather than outright better.”

That’s likely what the Sixers envision by swapping Thybulle for McDaniels.

McDaniels averaged a career-high 10.6 points per game this year with the Hornets, albeit on a career-low 44.7 percent shooting overall and 32.2 percent from deep. He’s launching more three-pointers than ever and has hit almost as many this year (65) as Thybulle has over the past two seasons combined (66).

The San Diego State product doesn’t rack up defensive splash plays like Thybulle, but he’s no slouch on that end of the floor. He’s in the 90th percentile in block rate and 87th percentile in steal rate among all wings leaguewide this year, per Cleaning the Glass, and he’s in the 78th percentile among all players in Dunks and Threes’ defensive estimated plus/minus.

Rebounding is one area in which McDaniels can make an immediate impact on the Sixers. He’s been in the top fifth of all wings in offensive rebound rate and defensive rebound rate in three of his four NBA seasons, and he’s bringing in 4.8 boards in 26.7 minutes per game this year. The Sixers entered Thursday ranked 25th leaguewide in total rebound percentage and 26th in offensive rebound percentage, the latter of which has been an issue for them throughout head coach Doc Rivers’ entire tenure.

Even if McDaniels won’t create as much defensive havoc as Thybulle did, the Sixers are likely betting on his well-roundedness making him more valuable in playoff settings. Teams outright ignored Thybulle on the perimeter and shaded additional defensive help toward Joel Embiid and James Harden, which made it difficult to play him significant minutes.

“One thing Coach identified that made things challenging, in the playoffs especially, was the lack of players who can play both sides of the ball, which become more important during the playoffs,” Morey told reporters at the Sixers’ media day in late September. He didn’t specifically mention Thybulle by name, but it wasn’t hard to read between the lines.

This deal also helps the Sixers out financially. They began the day roughly $1.2 million above the league’s $150.3 million luxury-tax threshold. Since they were taxpayers in each of the past two seasons as well, they would have become subject to the more punitive repeater tax next year. Instead, they’re now in line for an estimated $13.6 million disbursement at the end of the season from the remaining taxpaying teams.

The Sixers now sit roughly $1.27 million below the tax line. Since veteran-minimum contracts prorate based on how much of the season is left, they should have plenty of room under the tax line to fill their 15th empty spot with a free-agent signing. Given some of the players who could get bought out by their new teams—former Sixers wing Danny Green should be of particular interest—the Sixers likely aren’t done upgrading their roster.

While some fans may be disappointed that they didn’t take a bigger swing at the trade deadline, that was largely a byproduct of their financial and asset limitations.

The Sixers already owe their 2023 unprotected first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets, a top-six-protected 2025 first-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder and a top-eight-protected 2027 first-round pick to the Nets as well. Thanks to the Stepien Rule, which prevents teams from going back-to-back drafts without a first-round pick, the Sixers could only offer a 2024 first-round swap and a conditional 2029 first-rounder.

They were similarly devoid of second-round picks to offer. The NBA stripped them of their 2023 and 2024 second-rounders as punishment for tampering with P.J. Tucker and Danuel House Jr. in free agency. They had already traded away their 2025 and 2026 second-round picks, and they can’t trade their 2027 and 2028 second-rounders since they’re part of the conditions tied to the 2025 and 2027 first-rounders they owe to OKC and Brooklyn, respectively. They had the 2023 Hornets second-rounder (which they included in Thursday’s deal) and a 2029 second-round pick to offer. That’s it.

With players such as Jae Crowder (five), Gary Payton II (five), Thomas Bryant (three) and Bones Hyland (two) all commanding multiple second-round picks in trades, the Sixers didn’t have the draft ammunition to make a big splash. They were also limited by the NBA’s salary-matching rules for trades, which prohibited them from receiving more than 125 percent of the salary they sent out, plus $100,000. With only five players earning more than $8 million this year, they didn’t have enough money to cobble together for the likes of Eric Gordon ($19.6 million) or even Luke Kennard ($14.4 million).

All things considered, the Sixers traded a player whom they weren’t likely to re-sign this summer (Thybulle) for one who could be more of a factor in their playoff rotation (McDaniels) while turning one second-round pick into two future second-rounders. They also managed to duck below the luxury-tax line, thus pushing back the clock on the repeater tax for a year. Considering how expensive their roster could get if they manage to re-sign Harden this summer, that’s no small accomplishment.

Even though the trade deadline is now over, the Sixers shouldn’t rest on their laurels. Their loss to the depleted Boston Celtics on Wednesday highlighted just how much room they still have to make up against the East’s top two teams. A backup center figures to be among their top priorities on the buyout market given their ongoing questions at that spot.

The Sixers are by no means the biggest winners of the 2023 trade deadline. But given what they had to work with, their front office deserves credit for making lemonade out of lemons.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac or RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.