Report: 76ers have made zero traction with a Matisse Thybulle contract extension

In news that should have already been pretty clear to any Philadelphia 76ers fan, the team has not made any type of traction in contract extension talks with Matisse Thybulle.

Honestly, I really don’t even know why this is popping up on other Philly sports media websites. It seems like the most obvious report ever, but we’ll touch on it since there are other outlets talking about it.

Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report on Matisse Thybulle Contract Extension

There hasn’t been traction on extension conversations with Thybulle, sources said. Most extension dialogues don’t begin in earnest until summer approaches fall. But Thybulle may be the perfect case to buck the league’s recent trend of growing extension numbers. If the current trade market is an early indication of next summer’s free agency, Thybulle’s value could struggle to recover from a poor postseason showing, with his vaccination status further complicating matters. Perhaps there’s room for Thybulle to bet on himself in hopes of landing a richer deal next offseason.

Thybulle signed a 4-year, $12.5 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. His club optioned has been exercised twice, the first being at the start of the 2021-22 season and then again last fall for the 2022-23 season. This is the final year left on his contract, with a qualifying offer for the 2023-24 season.

Side Note: A qualifying offer is designed to give a player’s current team the right of first refusal. Because the qualifying offer acts as the first formal contract offer a free agent receives, his team then has the option to match any offer sheet the player signs with another club.

Obviously, Thybulle is an All-NBA defender and has been awarded All-Defensive honors twice in his career but he has failed to progress offensively. He averaged 5.7 points and he shot 31.3% from deep on 2.2 attempts in the 2021-22 season.

The 76ers know that, and looked other ways this offseason by signing players like PJ Tucker, Danuel House Jr, and DeAnthony Melton, which will all definitely keep Thybulle off the court more than we have seen in seasons past.

Thybulle has also been shopped since the end of last season but the 76ers have failed to find any type of deal that they were interested in.

With one year left on his contract, I would look at this year as a “prove it” situation for Thybulle, where he needs to earn trust back from the Sixers to be considered a piece of the future for the organization.

Matisse Thybulle is now the first player ever to have blocked 2 Steph Curry 3-point attempts in the same game @ESPNStatsInfo

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— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) December 12, 2021