Portland Trail Blazers free agent Matisse Thybulle has agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 6’5 wing was 29 years of age at the time of the signing. Shams Charania of ESPN reported the news.
Thybulle’s NBA career began in 2019 following a four-year tour at the University of Washington. He was selected 20th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2019 NBA Draft but was then traded immediately to the Philadelphia 76ers where he would spend the first three-and-a-half
years of his career. Known for his defense and tenacity, Thybulle would earn marginal voting for Defensive Player of the Year and receive All NBA Defensive Second-Team honors twice.
Thybulle joined the Blazers in February of 2023, coming to the franchise as part of a four-team deal that sent forward Josh Hart to the New York Knicks. The Blazers signed him to a three-year, $33 million free agent contract in July of 2023. His time in Portland will be remembered for injuries, also for heady, quick perimeter defense and three-point shooting.
Over three-and-a-half seasons, Thybulle played 132 games for the Blazers. Last year he appeared 30 times, averaging 5.8 points and 2.0 steals in 16.0 minutes per game while shooting 39.8% from the three-point arc.
