Getty Mattise Thybulle of the Philadelphia 76ers guards OG Anunoby of the Toronto Raptors. Thybulle has been linked to the Dallas Mavericks.
It was an exciting trade deadline for the Dallas Mavericks. They made a huge splash, landing Kyrie Irving in a blockbuster deal with the Brooklyn Nets.
After months of speculation, the deadline is finally in the rearview. The next time the Mavs will be able to make a big move will be in the summer when free agency kicks off.
Bleacher Report is wasting no time looking ahead to the offseason.
On February 16, NBA writer Dan Favale posted an article that highlighted one upcoming free agent each team should look to target.
When discussing the Mavericks, Favale pinpointed Mattisse Thybulle of the Portland Trailblazers as a potential candidate.
He cited Thybulle’s defensive presence as reasoning for the Mavs to sign him.
“Dallas’ mandate is straightforward: Try like hell to acquire defense,” Favale wrote.
The 25-year-old has been selected to two All-Defensive teams in his short career, making the second-team in each of the last two seasons. He was traded to the Blazers from the Philadelphia 76ers at last week’s deadline.
Favale broke down different ways that Dallas could look to improve their defense, eventually landing on Thybulle as the best candidate.
“Beefing up the rim protection needs to be a priority, but the Mavs can probably upgrade its interior turnstile on the relative cheap. Re-signing Wood and then devoting the mini MLE to another big, again, also doesn’t make a ton of sense,” Favale explained. “Crossing their fingers for a third-team flier on Matisse Thybulle is more fitting. Mini-MLE spenders don’t usually have the cash to lure restricted free agents, but Portland acquired him as its own exploratory dice roll, not as someone it plans to handsomely compensate.”
Favale added that if Thybulle has a strong finish to the season in Portland, then he could wind up being out of Dallas’ price range this summer.
“Thybulle’s offensive value will hover around zero if he’s not hitting ultra-wide-open standstill threes or getting moved around off the ball. Maybe he’ll start doing both with the Blazers. If he does, he’ll be too expensive for the Mavs,” he warned. “If he doesn’t, they’re better built to sync up with defense-only players than most others.”
Mavericks Nearly Landed Matisse Thybulle at Trade Deadline
To further back Favale’s pitch, the Mavericks have reportedly shown interest in Thybulle before. Just last week at the deadline, they nearly struck a deal with the Sixers to bring him to Dallas.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, a trade between the two teams was “95%” complete.
“The Sixers came close to trading Thybulle to the Dallas Mavericks, according to sources. One source said that deal was 95% complete,” Pompey wrote. “The only holdup was the Sixers’ insistence on receiving a first-round pick as part of the package for Thybulle. So, after the Mavs finally balked, the Sixers turned their attention to finalizing a deal with Charlotte.”
Mavericks Predicted to Make ‘Superstar Stacking’ Trade in Summer
Though the Mavs likely won’t have much cap room left if they re-sign Irving this summer, they’d still be able to improve the roster through trade.
Back on February 14, Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer predicted that the franchise would be looking to add a third star to the roster this summer. He highlighted different assets that the front office would be able to offer to other teams in a potential blockbuster deal.
“Using a 2029 unprotected first-round pick to land Irving will allow Dallas to move both their 2025 and 2027 first-round picks this summer, after the Mavericks’ 2023 selection finally conveys to New York as part of the 2019 Kristaps Porzingis deal,” Fischer wrote. “If Irving and Doncic manage to form the partnership Doncic and Porzingis never could fully cement, then perhaps the Mavericks will even take those picks and go shopping for an additional co-star for Doncic and Irving. Why stop at two alphas when you can chase a third? That has been the going order of operations for teams in the superstar-stacking business.”
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