Trade Pitch Has Lakers Get $11.5 Million ‘Disruptive’ Defender to Fix Weakness

The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off one of the most stunning trades in recent memory when they sent five-time All-NBA center Anthony Davis to the Dallas Mavericks, getting back another five-time All-NBA superstar, Luka Dončić. But as breathtaking as it was at the time, the trade did nothing to address perhaps the Lakers’ biggest weakness — defense.

Led by LeBron James and Dončić, the Lakers powered their way to the third seed in the Western Conference with a 50-win season. But they didn’t do it with defense, ranking only 17th of the NBA’s 30 teams with a defensive rating of 113.8.

The defensive weaknesses could no longer be hidden when LeBron and Co. faced Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs, when their defensive rating ballooned to 116.7 and they not surprisingly went out not with a bang but with a whimper, falling 4-1 in the series.

Lakers Need Another Move to Upgrade Flagging D

The Lakers have made some attempt to address the issue, signing seven-footer Deandre Ayton as a free agent. But Ayton in limited action for the Portland Trail Blazers last season put up a defensive rating of 112. That’s worse than the league average of 110.6.

On the other hand, Portland shooting guard Matisse Thybulle has been described as a “disruptive” defender and “the most unorthodox defender in NBA history. For his entire career, divided between the Philadelphia 76ers and Portland, Thybulle — entering his seventh year in the league — has maintained a defensive rating of 108.7.

In a new trade proposal by Clutch Points associate editor Jedd Padagum, it is Thybulle who moves to the Lakers, on his expiring contract that pays him $11.55 million next season, in exchange for two bench players: Maxi Kleber and Shake Milton, along with a 2032 unprotected second-round draft pick.

With the Blazers’ acquisition of veteran defensive specialist Jrue Holiday from the Boston Celtics, Thybulle may be seen as expendable in Portland coach Chauncey Billups’ scheme.

“Thybulle is someone the Lakers have checked the availability of, and one would think that the Blazers will be more than willing to trade him away considering his lack of durability and his contract situation,” Padagum wrote.

Thybulle Excelled in Highly Limited Action

That lack of durability may be why the Lakers could get away with giving up no more than Kleber — acquired in the Dončić trade but who sat out injured the rest of the season — and Milton to get the 28-year-old.

Thybulle appeared in only 15 games last season with knee and ankle injuries keeping him sidelined. But when he did take the court he made an impact. According to Play-by-Play statistics, the Trail Blazers’ net rating (defensive rating subtracted from offensive rating) declined by almost 3.5 points with Thybulle off the court, but went up by close to a full point when he was on the floor.

“He did look like a very impactful player upon his return,” wrote Padagum. “He averaged 2.2 steals a night, which goes to show that he’s still one of the most disruptive defenders in the Association.”

The 2019 Celtics first-round pick (traded to the Sixers on draft night), in his 15 games with Portland last season, “significantly impacted the defense with a 105.1 defensive rating, best on the team for players averaging at least 12 minutes, and tied for fifth in the NBA for players averaging 20 minutes or more,” according to NBA writer Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian.