During his 22 games with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2022-23, Matisse Thybulle averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game.
The Blazers always said they intended to keep Thybulle around into the next season and they apparently meant it.
On Thursday, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Blazers are matching a three-year, $33 million offer for Thybulle from the Dallas Mavericks.
The deal for the restricted free agent was signed on Thursday morning, which means it is done and he is officially staying in Portland.
The Portland Trail Blazers are matching restricted free agent Matisse Thybulle’s three-year, $33 million offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell ESPN. Sheet was signed and received in Portland this morning. pic.twitter.com/5WEqjCO18w
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2023
Thybulle is a two-time All-Defensive second-team player and has worked well in Portland’s rotations so far.
He can also shoot quite well from the three-point line and landed 38.8% from beyond the arc last season.
That was enough to convince the Blazers that Thybulle could be an important part of their future.
The team is currently grappling with the upcoming loss of Damian Lillard and they need to start building a roster that doesn’t revolve around him.
Portland believes that Thybulle could be part of that rotation and will be a starting player.
Sure enough, he started in all 22 games he played for Portland in 2022-23.
It’s not clear how much of a chance the Mavericks ever had at landing Thybulle.
They too are making tweaks to their roster, in order to better serve the backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
But the Blazers were truly adamant about keeping Thybulle around and using him to push forward into this new era.
Along with Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Jerami Grant, and others, Thybulle will be an important part of this budding generation for Portland.
NEXT: NBA Analyst Sides With Trail Blazers In Damian Lillard Saga
