NEW YORK — The Philadelphia 76ers figure to be one of the more active teams before the 3 p.m. EST trade deadline on Thursday. It’s obvious what the needs are: a backup center and maybe another 3-and-D wing player. A few names repeatedly pop up on the Sixers’ side.
Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz have been mentioned in trade talk, and sometimes that can be a lot for a player to handle. Thybulle is taking a laid-back approach. He’s just seeing what goes down before the deadline. Korkmaz expressed a desire to play more.
Depending on where his team is in trade talks and how it’s affecting his team, coach Doc Rivers says he takes the appropriate approach to each situation.
“I don’t say a word,” Rivers started. “I don’t unless it’s needed. I’ve had teams that you can see that the talk was affecting them or I’ve had teams where the talk was affecting individuals and you try to take care of it the best you can. This is a different day and time. A lot of the stuff that’s out there is untrue, but it’s still reality to them. You read it. You believe it or some of them do.”
This 2023 trade deadline compared to 2022 figures to be a lighter time around the team. While anything can happen and anybody can be moved, there isn’t this huge pressure to make a deal happen. The Ben Simmons saga was a dark cloud over this franchise for the 2021-22 season leading to the deadline. The possibility of him being traded was discussed every day.
“I don’t know, honestly, because I haven’t read any of the stuff,” Rivers added. “It feels that way, but I don’t know that.”
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