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In the summer of 2023, the Dallas Mavericks signed Matisse Thybulle to a three-year offer sheet in free agency as they looked to retool the roster after missing the 2023 NBA Playoffs. Thybulle was a restricted free agent whom the Mavs had long coveted, but unfortunately for Dallas, the Portland Trail Blazers matched the Mavericks' three-year, $33 million offer sheet.
The two-time All-Defensive Second Team player was forced to remain in Portland despite badly wanting to join the Mavericks, and three years later, Luka Doncic gets to unite with him in Los Angeles ahead of his second full season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lakers land the defensive ace Dallas tried to sign in 2023
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Lakers signed Thybulle to a one-year, $3.3 million deal. Doncic even spoke to Thybulle before he signed with Los Angeles, and Luka now gets to play with one of the NBA's premier defenders whose jump shot is steadily improving. Thybulle averaged 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in just 16.0 minutes per game for Portland last season while shooting 39.8 percent from long range, and he's going to be an excellent fit in Los Angeles.
Luka Doncic-led teams always need strong perimeter defenders around him, and Thybulle will immediately become the best wing defender on the team. Many of the Lakers' previous moves this offseason ignored perimeter defense, but that happens to be Thybulle's specialty.
Standing at 6-foot-5 with a 7-foot wingspan, Thybulle is the definition of a disruptor. He can guard multiple positions, and his off-ball instincts are what make him so dangerous. Thybulle can comfortably defend some of the best offensive players in the NBA while knocking down open shots on the other end, and Mavericks fans will always wish that they got to see him play with Doncic in Dallas.
Why Thybulle would've been a strong fit with Doncic in Dallas
If the Blazers hadn't matched Dallas' offer sheet, Thybulle would've been joining a roster headlined by Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Dereck Lively II. He would've thrived on the open looks that Doncic and Irving created with their on-ball gravity, all while being the team's much-needed defensive stopper on the other end.
The Mavericks' defense would've had an entirely different look, and Thybulle would've been in a position to contend for a title rather than playing for a Trail Blazers squad that only made the NBA Playoffs once during his three and a half seasons there.
It was overwhelmingly clear that he wanted to head to Dallas and team up with Doncic, and while his wish was ripped away from him in 2023, he now gets to join Doncic in Los Angeles. The Lakers are trying to build a squad similar to the team Doncic had on the Mavericks, and after acquiring two of his former Mavericks teammates earlier this summer, they signed a player that Dallas wanted all along.
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This article was originally published on thesmokingcuban.com as Lakers just signed the elite defender the Mavericks tried to pair with Luka Doncic.
