Celtics draft Matisse Thybulle, immediately trade him to 76ers for pair of draft picks
The Boston Celtics selected Matisse Thybulle with the No. 20 overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night, though his time with the organization lasted only minutes.
The Celtics immediately reached a deal to send Thybulle to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the No. 24 and No. 33 picks in the draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Deal is agreed on -- and Sixers will send Boston Nos. 24 and 33 in this draft, league sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/XM7bHrkNH7
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2019
Thybulle averaged 9.1 points and 2.3 rebounds for the Huskies last season and was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year . The Washington senior didn’t work out with any teams before Thursday’s draft, but is widely considered one of the top defenders in the field.
That, in part, is why the 6-foot-6 guard was so confident he would end up going in the first round of the draft.
“Without a doubt, I’m a first-round draft pick,” Thybulle told Yahoo Sports earlier this year. “If you look at the 3-and-D players in the league today, that’s a skillset I can provide for an NBA team on day one. I respect all the names I see on these internet draft lists, but there are not 20 players in the country better suited for the NBA than I am. And I believe at my position, I’m more ready to contribute to a team than players mentioned ahead of me.”
The Celtics have already selected Indiana guard Romeo Langford with the No. 14 overall pick and Tennessee’s Grant Williams with the No. 22 overall pick. They also reached a deal with the Suns which sent the No. 24 overall pick — which they used to draft Virginia’s Ty Jerome — and center Aron Baynes to Phoenix in exchange for a 2020 first round pick.
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