The Lakers are signing forward Matisse Thybulle on a one-year, $3.3MM contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.
That’ll be a veteran’s minimum deal for Thybulle, whose minimum salary this season is $3,286,399. He’ll earn that amount while the club carries a cap hit of $2,449,421.
As Lakers reporter Jovan Buha points out (Twitter link), the addition of Thybulle will bring Los Angeles to 16 players on standard guaranteed contracts. The team will have to waive or trade at least one of them by opening night to reach the 15-man limit. The Lakers’ interest in signing Thybulle was reported by multiple outlets.
Since entering the league in 2019 in Philadelphia, Thybulle has established himself as a defensive ace, though his offensive contributions are modest. During his 377 career games, he’s averaged 5.0 points and 1.1 assists in 20.6 minutes per game. He made the All-Defensive second team in 2021 and 2022.
Thybulle has spent the last three-and-a-half seasons with the Trail Blazers, though he hasn’t played much the past two campaigns. He was limited to 45 games due to ankle, knee and thumb injuries. He was healthy to finish the 2025/26 campaign and was playing rotation minutes for Portland down the stretch.
Thybulle joins a revamped Lakers roster with a number of options at the wing positions, led by Austin Reaves and free agent addition Quentin Grimes. Since its flurry of moves early in free agency, the team has focused on upgrading its perimeter defense, finalizing a deal with Ziaire Williams over the weekend before reaching an agreement with Thybulle.
Take that Kuminga lol
Cookin’ in the kitchen with Rob!
When’s he gonna start using fire?
Already did when he set the LeBron fire.
Yup. Addition by subtraction.
Over or under on Lakers winning 53 games this season
The west is tough. I’m leaning under but no disrespect to the guys they’ve added and already have.
Hawks aren’t taking any players back. They already at 17
Don’t have too
It can be a 3 teamer with Atl just getting a free 2nd rder or two
Thing is theer is no 3rd team that would want any of Vanderbilt, hardy, LaRavia or knecht! They Would want to be compensated to take any of that dead weight!
Yup they would be getting compensated as well w 2 nd rders
Hardy and Dk s price to offload is most likely 2 2nd rders
Or a trade exception.
Last year, when Kuminga was going through the Warriors drama, there was talk of him going to the Lakers. I looked at a couple of Lakers fan sites. They were dead set against the Lakers acquiring Kuminga.
I am questioning about this
Kings viewed Kuminga as an all star 5 months ago
They offered two negative assets in
Monk
Carter
They refused to attach draft picks
they did offer a draft pick but it was a darft pick late in round 1 which would have been most likely the spurs pick they owned. You do bring up a good question is why are they not going after Kuminga now? They also traded 1 of the players they refused to trade to the warriors in a trade for kuminga.
Probably because it wasn’t so much they wanted Kuminga. They wanted to dump Carter and monk lol
It makes you wonder. they did dump carter. its teh same old Kuminga only wants a big pay day but doesn’t want to do the work to earn it.
The LA Lakers……where injury prone Blazers go to die.
Good move
After signing Kuminga the Lakers will be about $8M under the first apron, which they have to stay under.
The Lakers can send out Hardy, with $5M cash to a third team and one second round pick. That third team can keep Hardy for that one year or waive him. They would lose $1M on the deal, but get a free second round pick for that $1M. I believe they can take Hardy cause they took him under the cap. If not they can do this with LaRavia or Knecht and Bronny combo.
With that $6M trade the Lakers, I believe, can take back 175% ($10.5M) salary back, cause he was acquired under the cap.
Then they can pay Kuminga $10.5M a year. Cleveland cannot pay Kuminga more than $6.7M (exception) if they want to keep Hardin. They cannot go over the first apron in a sign and trade with the Hawks.
Then for rhe 15th spot, the lakers can trade out Bronny to go play with daddy or waive him or Knecht.
Nobodies getting waived or stretched
Was never really an option neways outside of 2k but it officially sailed the second they went over the cap
No reason to stretch Knecht. Trans often waive a player to make room for another player.
The Lakers don’t need to waive Knecht to open up salary, they need to do it to open a roster spot. Makes zero difference for the lakers as far as the aprons if they keep or waive Knecht.
They will waive nobody, they need every dollar they have on the books to work with –
Bronny can join pops worst case but Id bet there’s a 2 for 1 trade as well
Take a second and read what I’m saying. If they waive keep Knecht this year his cap hit is $4.2M. If they waive Knecht his cap hit is $4.2M. Do, it makes zero difference because they have room under the hard cap first apron.
To receive a sign and trade from the Hawks they do need to send salary out. My only point was read if sending out one salary is enough to get Kuminga back, but you need to attach Knecht to another second round pick, you won’t have to do that. They can simply waive him to clear up the roster spot, and still remain under the first apron.
Your losing that salary to trade later and adding 2.4 new salary
Not wise whatsoever for a team that needs tradeable expiring’s and room under apron 1
*Hardys salary wont be enough for JK sign n trade
They have to think bigger, plenty of fish out there other than JK and Dk’s a perfect helper salary 4.2 for later
Even if they cant make a trade this summer and Broony just follows pops they will have a 10.4 mill cushion to operate under w 15 players . You want Dk’s salary in this scenario for the trade deadline, so many teams looking to shed while we will be itching to use up all that 10.4 (blowing by the tax w/out hesitation ….something half the teams in this league wouldnt even fathom )
IF they can keep an expiring salary on the books they should keep it, HOWEVER, right now with Thybulle acquisition they have 16 players on the books. If they get Kuminga they will have 17 players. You can only have 15 players on the books going into the season.
So, if they can get Kuminga by just trading Harding, then they will have 16 players and can waive Knecht if they need to send out a pick to move him.
Fair but Big IF
I wouldn’t worry about 16, Bronny can skirt
Lotta options till Feb, Im not putting all my eggs on JK, in fact the longer it goes into the summer the better we probably sit with him and the untapped market that can arise outside of him
He’s played in 45 games the last 2 seasons total. Cool.
Now teh lakers have 16 under contract and needs to waive or do a 2 for 1 deal. Does this mean they are waiving Bronny ??
Excellent signing by LA. He’s a much better player than his Philly days. Injury is the only worry