Mattise Thybulle (SG/SF, PHI): Week 16 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 12-Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 13% of leagues

ANALYSIS: In the last bunch of WW pickups before the trade deadline goes past us, Mattise Thybulle might be one of the most interesting players out there not rostered in that many leagues. Philadelphia looks bad as an on-paper contender. The Sixers will need to step up their game more than a bit if they want to do something of impact, and maybe Thybulle ends helping them more than they planned to... whether it is in Philadelphia or trading him away for other pieces.

Whatever happens during the next few days (Thybulle stays or he's traded away), what is clear is that Philly values the kid as much as any other of their young assets. That bodes well for Thybulle's future and also speaks volumes of his contributions. While Thybulle averaged 15 minutes per game in his first 20 games, he's all the way up at 24 during the last 22 and he has even started seven of the team's last nine matches, becoming a much more prominent role player. In fact, the minutes have gone higher since Jan. 13, and in the 10 games he's played since then he's logged 28 mpg.

Thybulle is making the most of his opportunities with averages of 6.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.9 spg, and 1.1 bpg in his last 10 games. Those numbers might look low, but he's putting them up on a super-restricted 11.8% usage rate. Only trhee players are averaging at least 6-2.5-1.5-1.5-1 on the season: Andre Drummond, Anthony Davis, and Jonathan Isaac. Thybulle is surely far from the level of those, but his late set of outcomes makes him a more than affordable acquisition with tons of upside.