At 28-21, the Sacramento Kings sit as the No.3 seed in the West with the second-best offense in the league - they seemed destined to break their 16-year playoff drought and very well could even host a first-round playoff series.
However, their 23rd-ranked defense (using Cleaning the Glass' numbers) will undo them come the playoffs.
That has the Kings looking for some defensive help and they are eyeing Sixers wing Matisse Thybulle, reports Marc Stein in his latest Substack newsletter.
Thybulle has lived in the rumor mill for a while, this is nothing new. However, those rumors carry more weight because Thybulle's role in Philadelphia has shrunk considerably with the additions of De'Anthony Melton and P.J. Tucker as defensive-minded forwards who can provide more offense than Thybulle. Doc Rivers also leans into Georges Niang more off the bench because of his shooting.
Thybulle is in the final year of his contract and is headed for restricted free agency, the Kings might be interested in re-signing him (depending on the price and his fit with the roster). The Kings can match salaries easily enough with Davion Mitchell, Terence Davis or Alex Len, the question is who will the 76ers want back, and will the Kings need to throw in a second-round pick?
There's some logic to this trade getting done in some form, it's worth keeping an eye on.
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Needing defense, Kings reportedly eyeing 76ers Thybulle for trade originally appeared on NBCSports.com
