In a three-way trade, the Portland Trail Blazers will acquire Matisse Thybulle from the Philadelphia 76ers, who will receive Jalen McDaniels from the Charlotte Hornets, plus draft compensation, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Hornets will reportedly get draft compensation and Svi Mykhailiuk in the deal. Mykhaiuliuk was traded from the New York Knicks to the Blazers on Wednesday in the Josh Hart deal.
According to ESPN's Bobby Marks, Philadelphia will receive New York's 2024 second-round pick (from Charlotte) and Portland's 2029 second-round pick, while Charlotte will receive second-round picks in 2023 and 2027. The 2023 pick going to the Hornets will all but certainly be their own (it's the most favorable of Charlotte, Atlanta and Brooklyn's picks) and the 2027 one will come from New Orleans or Portland (whichever pick is more favorable).
For the Blazers, this trade must be viewed in conjunction with their decision to trade Gary Payton II to the Golden State Warriors. Thybulle is a top-tier wing defender who can guard multiple positions and wreak havoc in passing lanes. He is also a career 32.5 percent 3-point shooter, and opposing teams completely ignore him on the perimeter. As incredibly as Thybulle and Payton would have been together defensively, keeping both would have created spacing issues and the Payton trade brought back five second-round picks. It will be easier to judge the wisdom of this decision after Thybulle's free agency.
For the Sixers, this all but confirms that Thybulle was not going to have a role to play in their playoff run. He had already seen his playing time decline to a career-low 12.1 minutes per game this season, and he will be a restricted free agent in the summer. McDaniels will be an unrestricted free agent, but the trade gives Philadelphia a look at another long, versatile forward in his mid-20s.
McDaniels is hardly a marksman, either, but he's attempting 4.9 3s per 36 minutes this season, compared to Thybulle's 3.2 per 36. And while he has been a low-usage player in Charlotte, the Sixers could reasonably see more offensive upside in him. The picks are helpful, too.
The Hornets aren't going anywhere this season, and they have numerous decisions to make about their roster in July. This removes one of them -- McDaniels' free agency -- and gives them an extra second-round pick for their trouble.
