Restricted free agent Matisse Thybulle intends to ink an offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks this Thursday, per Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report. With that, the Portland Trail Blazers have two days to decide if they’ll match the deal proposed by the Mavs given the qualifying offer they handed to Thybulle.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Thybulle is planning to sign a three-year deal in the $33 million range.
Thybulle, a first-round pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 Draft, ended the 2022-23 season with the Portland Trail Blazers. His numbers went on to improve with them as he averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 boards, 1.7 steals, 1.4 assists, and 38.8 percent three-point shooting for 20 games.
A renowned defensive pest, the probable acquisition of Thybulle means a splash for the Mavs as they already have plenty of offensive firepower with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving at the front. The addition of Thybulle patches the defensive hole of the club on both the defense of their perimeter and in the wing in the wake of the exit of Dorian Finney-Smith and, recently, Reggie Bullock.
The case for Portland’s desire to retain him is enticing given the fact that they now intend to head toward a much-awaited rebuild following franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard’s desire to finally cut ties and be traded. At age 26, Thybulle doesn’t entirely fit into the team’s impending reconstruction which will be built around Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, and Anfernee Simons.
Rose Garden Report’s Sean Highkin pointed out that there’s a “strong chance” that Portland will look to match Dallas’ offer sheet to Thybulle as the franchise has already planned that they do want to stick around with the swingman regardless of the team’s direction. As such, the clock is now ticking for them to weigh their options and consideration in bringing back Thybulle.
