The Portland Trail Blazers just watched another one of their cleaner free-agent possibilities disappear, and that makes the Matisse Thybulle conversation a lot easier.
Rui Hachimura is staying in Los Angeles, signing a two-year, $28 million deal with the rival Clippers. Portland could have pushed a little higher by using its Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, but there wasn’t much else the Blazers could realistically do. Hachimura wanted to remain in Los Angeles, and ESPN’s Shams Charania reported there had been mutual interest early in free agency in finding a way to make it work.
For Portland, it’s another swing and miss in a summer that has already thinned out the list of appealing forward options. That’s why the case for bringing back Matisse Thybulle, who is still an unrestricted free agent, looks stronger now than it did a few days ago.
There are still other reunion paths the Blazers could explore. Nicolas Batum would bring veteran presence.
Trendon Watford would add versatility, and the Philadelphia 76ers declined to pick up Watford’s option for next season while also hinting at a possible return to Portland on X. Bruce Brown Jr. is another name in the mix, offering the kind of veteran, multi-tool value that teams always chase this time of year.
But with two roster spots still open on the 15-man roster, Portland doesn’t need to overcomplicate this. Thybulle makes sense even if the Blazers pursue one of those other options too.
That wasn’t quite as obvious earlier in the offseason. Thybulle’s injury history is real, and he has played only 45 games over the last two seasons.
But Portland has already gone through the first wave of free agency with almost nothing to show for it, aside from signing Branden Carlson. That changes the math.
The Ja Morant deal also nudged things in Thybulle’s favor. Portland didn’t part with major assets in the move, sending Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to Memphis, but it did lose two forwards. That left the roster lighter on the wing, weakened the defensive identity a bit, and added to the shooting concerns that come with Morant entering the picture.
Thybulle remains one of the better two-way wings still available, and he’s also developed into a more useful floor-spacer than he often gets credit for. The health concerns won’t vanish. Still, if Portland is looking at him as an end-of-bench piece, the risk is easier to stomach.
At this point, the bigger danger might be doing nothing and heading toward the 2026-27 season with too many holes in an already uneven roster.
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