Via Keith Pompey at the Inky:

“The Sixers also tried to acquire the Rockets’ Eric Gordon on draft night, using Matisse Thybulle as an asset. They even attempted to get a third team to participate, according to multiple league sources. Sources say Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey is still trying to acquire Gordon despite being unsuccessful on Thursday night.”

Former Rocket P.J. Tucker out. Former Rocket Eric Gordon in. The third team involved was the Trailblazers:

“Morey really wanted to add Gordon on draft night via a three-team trade, according to sources.

However, teams wanted to deal with the Sixers exclusively rather than help facilitate a deal to get Gordon from Houston, sources say. The Portland Trail Blazers were willing to make a straight-up deal for Thybulle, according to sources.

Couple things here and from Thursday night’s draft:

  • I’d much rather have Eric Gordon than 37 year old P.J. Tucker, especially now with the addition of De’Anthony Melton and the Sixers most likely not using the MLE. Kevin detailed more about the trade here. Sidenote: I’ve reached my limit trying to understand the MLE, NTMLE, TMLE. I’m done with any talk about taxes until next April.
  • I know the Blazers don’t want to help out a conference rival, but why do they need to continue to be a thorn in the Sixers side when it comes to trades? We might just need to put that team on some “No Fly List.” Let Dame embrace the grind in basketball purgatory.
  • A lot of people complained about the Draft being boring, but I thought it had some exciting moments. That might be because a lot of my bets came down to the wire and I had some last-second victories. I blame the ESPN broadcast more than anything. I don’t think a TV broadcast can catch up with the pace of social media and breaking news today. Last night they didn’t announce the Sixers trade for Melton until five picks later. By that time everyone in the building and at home already knew the details, read 10 articles on him, and Woj was already tweeting two picks ahead. Nothing encapsulated this more than the beginning of the night. Woj tells everyone Paolo Banchero would be selected at #1 ESPN ran a graphics package one second later wondering who the Magic were going to take. Do you think we’re idiots ESPN? We just heard the grandmaster speak: