Should Portland Trail Blazers match Mavericks’ offer for Thybulle?

According to Shams Chamaria, from the Athletic, Thybulle will sign a three-year — $33 million offer sheet with the Mavs Thursday. However, the Portland Trail Blazers will receive the opportunity to match the offer.

With the Mavs coming off a season ranking 25th in defensive rating, there was a necessity to improve on that. “I think for us going into the offseason, the two biggest things that we need to work on is defense and rebounding,” Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said during a interview.

During the 2022–23 season, the wing averaged 4.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 71 games. Thybulle, however, is known to be a great defensive player. He has earned two All-Defensive Second Teams selections in his NBA career. During his 22 starts with the Blazers, he averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.7 steals, while shooting 38.8% from 3.

But what about the Portland Trail Blazers?

Portland had a worse defense than the Mavs, in last season. The team ended the 2022-23 season ranking 27th in defensive rating. As mentioned earlier, Thybulle is a great defender and can be a valuable player for Portland next season – especially if the team starts the process to get a younger roster, after the Damian Lillard trade.

So, if Portland thinks about getting better on defense in the next season, they need to match the offer for Matisse Thybulle.