Guard Matisse Thybulle quietly provided one of the feel-good stories of the 2025-26 season for the Portland Trail Blazers. The seven-year veteran returned from seasons-spanning injuries to play 30 games, averaging 6 points and 2 rebounds in 16 minutes per appearance while shooting 40% from the three-point arc. The lift he provided his teammates (and the defense) was a bonus to the campaign.
The return came in the final year of Thybulle’s current contract, a three-year deal culminating in an $11.5
million salary. Coincidentally, that’s close to the amount the Trail Blazers have remaining this season under the luxury tax threshold. That’s leading a few Blazer’s Edge readers to put two and two together in a fashion illustrated by today’s Blazer’s Edge Mailbag question:
Dave,
What do you think of signing Tisse back? Is he healthy now? How about the fit with the new lineup? If we got him at a discount he’d be a really nice bench guy. Thoughts?
Kyle
When it comes to skills, Thybulle is exactly what the doctor ordered for Portland’s rotation. He’s the opposite of everything the Blazers have in abundance. He can shoot. He defends the perimeter well. He doesn’t need the ball to be effective. Portland’s backcourt is a bunch of jugs full of various flavors of syrupy fruit punch. Sometimes it’s nice to have a bottle of water instead: clean, low-calorie, healthy and refreshing. That’s Matisse.
If I’m using the word “backcourt”, though, you know we’re in trouble. I don’t have to rehearse the names: Ja Morant, Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Vit Krejci. The field is overcrowded already. Of that group, Krejci and Thybulle would be the most likely to swing over to small forward in a three-guard lineup, but it’s not a comfortable fit for a 6’5 player. Still, that’s his best hope of participating in the current iteration.
Thybulle’s distance shooting is nice—critical for Portland nowadays—but his defense is the part I like most. Matisse is the best player on the team at closing to the arc and disrupting shots without overcommitting or fouling. He’s not just quick, he’s efficient. Smart, too. I loved watching him defend last season.
Is that enough to justify the cap cost when adding him to the throng of guards? Maybe, under a couple conditions.
- The Blazers plan to make other moves down the road, losing one or more of their offensive-minded players and clearing more minutes for Matisse.
- The Blazers are going to go with a cheap, “no-name” forward anyway and have that money to spend without the opportunity cost of helping the frontcourt. Or…
- Thybulle signs for a lower contract than his previous one.
If any or all of those conditions are met, I’d love to see Thybulle back. He’s only 29. He’d be a great veteran addition.
If they plan to keep the team as-is, though, swinging for the fences with scoring guards, Thybulle might find a happier home and more playing time elsewhere. He can’t stand in the river, hold up a palm, and stop the flow singlehandedly. If Portland’s other perimeter defenders commit to scrambling hard to keep the centers at home in the lane, Thybulle could become an important piece, maybe a team leader in that regard. If Matisse ends up doing all the scrambling while his teammates applaud appreciatively, signing him will be a waste of time.
Right now I would guess that the Blazers should not sign Thybulle. They can probably use that money better elsewhere. But it’d take half a whisker to change my mind. I just hope that if they do, they’re committed to playing a style that makes him matter.
‘Tisse could be one of the players making life easier on new head coach Micah Nori. Let’s see if he gets the chance.
Thanks for the question! If you all have any, you can send them to blazersub@gmail.com and we’ll try to answer as many as possible!
