In less than 24 hours, NBA free agency will officially start and fans and experts alike are already sketching out potential signings and trades via social media.
On Wednesday, Bleacher Report released an article speculating every team’s best-fit free agent they could sign. The 26-year-old shooting guard Matisse Thybulle was listed as the Washington Wizards’ main target.
Despite the purely speculative nature of this article, they could have a great point.
Matisse Thybulle is a disruptive defensive player
Thybulle started this season with the Philadelphia 76ers, the team that acquired his draft rights from the Boston Celtics during the 2019 NBA draft. After averaging just 2.7 points and 0.9 steals in the 49 games played with the 76ers this season, he was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in a four-team trade that involved the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks.
In the 22 games he played with Portland, Thybulle flourished as a player. He increased his averages to 7.4 points and 1.7 steals per game.
Thybulle does a lot more than what shows up on the traditional end-of-game stat sheets. Aside from the career averages of one steal and 0.8 blocks a game, his presence is felt in a big way, hence the nicknames “Mathief” and “Disruptor”.
Even though he isn’t the quickest defender in the league, he has the ability to stay in front of his opponents and contest their shots. He even makes an effort to get in between the passing lanes as he recorded a total of 152 deflections this season.
The DC ball club would benefit expeditiously if they land the two-time All-Defensive player. He is a wing player who is a defensive contributor, which is hard to find in the NBA these days.
Thybulle needs to improve on the offensive end
The Wizards’ current roster lacks a true defensive wing player. Sure, they have Deni Avdija but he’s more of a power forward who lacks the quickness needed for a stopper. They recently drafted forward Bilal Coulibaly but considering he’s new to the heavy offensive environment of the NBA, it could take some time for him to develop into a legitimate defender.
With the way the Wizards’ season ended, they need a reliable defensive player on their roster. Even though they finished the season ranked 9th in blocks, they were ranked 23rd in the league in steals per game. They also had one of the worst defensive ratings in the league, 21st in the NBA.
The only aspect of Thybulle’s game that needs improvement is his offense. He shot a career-high 36 percent from the 3-point line last season but still only averaged single-digit points. Since the Wizards don’t need a whole lot of improvement in the scoring column, it shouldn’t hold the Wizards back from acquiring him.
With a new front office in Washington, we could be seeing a lot more unexpected moves, let’s see if Matisse Thybulle is one of them.