The Portland Trail Blazers missed out on an ideal two-way wing in Lu Dort, who is suddenly headed to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a three-team deal involving the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks.
While that was a missed opportunity for Portland to bolster its defensive identity for cheap, they can still address that side of the ball to an extent by bringing back Matisse Thybulle.
The Blazers' defensive weapon remains a free agent and is even receiving interest from teams like the Los Angeles Lakers as he continues to climb up the free agency board of top remaining options. Portland needs to act before it's too late, as they suddenly have little wing/forward depth following their Ja Morant trade.
They were finally able to get off Jerami Grant's massive contract and were right to deem Kris Murray expendable, though that doesn't change the fact that this team now has a massive void to fill behind Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija. Hopefully, Sidy Cissoko takes another leap and can play more consistent minutes, but that's also a lot to ask of a 22-year-old on a team looking to build off the first postseason appearance of its rebuild.
Blazers should bring back Matisse Thybulle as two-way wings come off the board
Thybulle comes with his own flaws, particularly in his injury history as someone who has averaged just 22.5 games played over the past two seasons in Portland. But this is an end-of-roster spot we're talking about, and it's not like the Blazers have many better options after waiting so long in free agency.
Perhaps they are intentionally keeping the final spot open to give them more roster flexibility to make another trade, or at least keep that option open should the right deal come around. But that's a risky approach as Thybulle could be off the table any day with options continuing to dwindle for teams around the league. Not just in terms of free agency, but also potential trade targets like Dort.
Last season, we saw the Blazers' medical staff successfully revive Robert Williams III's career, to the point where they were comfortable extending him for three more seasons despite his extensive injury history. They had a good plan to manage him throughout the course of an 82-game season, specifically when it comes to maintenance and having him sit out back-to-backs. Hopefully, they are able to experience a similar level of success with Thybulle should they bring him back as well.
Portland only fully guaranteed the first year of Williams' deal and could potentially use that as a blueprint for Thybulle. But given the level of uncertainty as someone who failed to be available for a significant portion of the season, it could be in their best interest to make this a shorter-term deal. That would give the Blazers more flexibility, which is a priority this summer for a team still figuring out what direction they want to take this unfinished roster.
But in the meantime, they need more defense and forward depth, and Thybulle's return could be the most realistic stopgap option.
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