BOSTON — As the Philadelphia 76ers prepare for the 2022-23 season on Tuesday ahead of taking on the rival Boston Celtics on the road, there is already a big question.
Matisse Thybulle and the Sixers were unable to agree to a rookie extension before the 6 p.m. EDT Monday deadline, and he will enter restricted free agency in the 2023 offseason. The defensive star out of Washington will play under a cloud of uncertainty this season.
Coach Doc Rivers, a former NBA player, never dealt with a situation like this as a player, but he understands the stress that can come from the position Thybulle is in and how it can affect him.
“Honestly, I had one year where I could’ve become a free agent and should have if I could do my career over again, so I’m not familiar with it as a player,” said Rivers. “It does with every player. This is a business, too, and so the human part of the game — of course, it plays with all of them even though everyone says it doesn’t, it’s gotta be on their mind.”
Thybulle has made back-to-back All-Defensive second teams, and he is looking to earn his money. The biggest thing for him is to continue to perform and add a jumper to his offensive arsenal.
If he can continue to be a game-changer on the defensive end and keep honing that jumper, his contract situation will take care of itself and he will find his stability.
“At the end of the day, you walk out onto the floor, you have to play, you have to perform,” Rivers added. “It’s a performance business and when you do that, everything takes care of itself.”
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