Getty Mavericks stars Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic
Matisse Thybulle “desperately” wanted to be on the Dallas Mavericks, according to NBA insiders Chris Haynes and Marc Stein.
Thybulle signed a three-year, $33 million offer sheet with the Mavericks, but the Portland Trail Blazers matched it.
“The vibe I’ve gotten is that Thybulle really did want to end up with Dallas,” Stein said on his podcast with Haynes. “This is something Thybulle’s been wanting even before this summer. Dallas has been talked about as a potential destination. The Mavericks have explored in the past pathways to trade for Thybulle.”
Added Haynes: “Matisse desperately wanted to be a member of the Dallas Mavericks.”
Thybulle played for the Philadelphia 76ers and Blazers last season. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 43.5% from the field, 36.5% from beyond the arc and 67.9% from the free-throw line. The 26-year-old has made two All-Defensive teams in his career.
Thybulle has career averages of 4.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists with the Sixers and Blazers. He played his college basketball at Washington.
Mavericks Almost Made Trade With Lakers
The Mavericks “considered” making a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Dallas considered a sign-and-trade possibility with Los Angeles for Malik Beasley. However, the Mavericks and Lakers never made a deal and Beasley wound up signing with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Dallas considered a sign-and-trade possibility with the Lakers for Beasley during the process, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote. “The Bucks, Sixers, Suns, Raptors, Mavericks, and Warriors expressed interest in Beasley, as previously reported on HoopsHype.”
Beasley is signing a one-year, $2.7 million deal with the Bucks. The Florida State product played for the Utah Jazz and Lakers last season. He averaged 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 35.7% from deep.
The 26-year-old Beasley averaged 11.1 points in 26 regular-season games with the Lakers while shooting 39.2% overall and 35.3% from 3. However, he put up only 3.0 points per game in the 2023 playoffs in 11 appearances before getting removed from the rotation.
Grant Williams Discusses Celtics-Mavericks Trade
The Mavericks acquired Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics in a sign-and-trade deal and the forward is excited to play for Dallas.
Williams signed a four-year, $54 million contract as part of the sign-and-trade deal. He is expected to net approximately $4-5 million more by signing with the Mavericks than if he signed the same deal with the Celtics due to state income taxes, according to Scotto.
“I was thankful just because I feel like the way my agent and everybody talked about it was that this was our floor,” Williams told Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “In Boston, it’s really like $48 million with the millionaire’s tax, so $54 million in Dallas is really like $58 million in Boston and $63 million in L.A.
“It was a little strategic on that end, but it’s also one of those things where the year was going great and then some things curved that. So to come out with this makes me feel very comfortable.”
Williams averaged 8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Celtics last season while shooting 45.4% from the field, 39.5% from beyond the arc and 77.0% from the free-throw line in 79 games. He and Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic are both represented by WME Sports.
“The talent on this team is absurd,” Williams said. “Kyrie and Luka, being able to put two superstars of that nature, two top 10 players or whatever you want to say, Kyrie is one of the best point guards in the league still. As well as those young guys they have to grow and compete like (Olivier-Maxence Prosper), they drafted Dereck Lively. The Seth Currys, the vets in the world, they’re really talented.”