The Philadelphia 76ers and Matisse Thybulle did not come to terms on a contract extension. The deadline passed with only a little insight given into the negotiations regarding the Sixers' 25-year-old wing in the days leading up to it. After first reporting that the sides were in talks approaching the deadline, Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported that the two sides did not agree on a deal. Thybulle will now be a restricted free agent after this season.

To see a player make an All-Defensive Team twice on his rookie contract and not receive an extension is a bit confounding. But the situation between Thybulle and the Sixers was shaky after a rough playoff performance and years of stagnating offensive production. Both sides of the negotiations had reasons not to get a deal done.

Matisse Thybulle is a solid player who has more than proven himself on defense and has the potential to grow his game. Locking him down now could have given him a confidence boost as he looks to become a better 3-point shooter, not to mention more security with his future. Head coach Doc Rivers pointed him out as one of the Sixers' three hardest workers this summer and a lot of his work was shooting-focused.

However, committing long-term money to a player who may not be a regular in Rivers' rotation is risky. The Sixers would surely prefer to sign such a player to a contract of only a couple of years but Thybulle's camp likely would not be wise to go for that after so many young players received four-year extensions to their rookie deals. Thybulle would certainly like to keep his options open this summer so that he can find a new home if the Sixers don't make him a key rotation player.

Signing Matisse Tybulle to an extension would have meant that the Sixers were totally convinced that he is improved. Instead, they are now giving themselves the chance to see if Thybulle's game is truly improved before investing further. If it is, they will likely have no hesitations to sign him this offseason. Thybulle has said his choice is to say in Philly and if his shooting is improved, he will be a hugely valuable piece to the championship hopefuls.

But if Thybulle shows minimal or no improvement, he could very well be on a new team at some point this season. Although Philly can match any offseason contract he signs with another team, Thybulle is technically on an expiring contract. He has shown more willingness to fire away from deep in the preseason, which is promising, but his overall output (4/11 from deep across four games) did not stand out that much.

Not agreeing to an extension doesn't mean that Matisse Thybulle's days with the Sixers are over. However, each of those days is now filled with uncertainty.