Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Matisse Thybulle Set To Make Season Debut

March 12th, 2025 at 8:33am CST by Luke Adams

Trail Blazers wing Matisse Thybulle, who has missed the entire 2024/25 season so far, will be available to play on Wednesday vs. New York, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

Thybulle underwent a procedure in October, just before the start of the regular season, to address inflammation in his right knee. It wasn’t supposed to sideline him for a significant period, but he sustained a bad right ankle sprain in late November during his ramp-up process, which set back his recovery.

Known for his defensive prowess, Thybulle earned a spot on the All-Defensive Second Team in 2021 and again in 2022 as a member of the Sixers, but failed to develop his offensive game during his time in Philadelphia. He was sent to Portland at the 2023 trade deadline and then re-signed with the Blazers during the 2023 offseason on a three-year, $33MM contract.

Thybulle still isn’t much of a scorer, having averaged 5.9 points per game in 87 total outings as a Blazer. However, the 28-year-old has been a more reliable outside threat since the trade, making 35.8% of 3.6 three-point tries per game in Portland after knocking down just 32.5% of 2.1 attempts per game as a Sixer.

While the Blazers aren’t entirely out of the play-in hunt yet, they’re currently mired in a four-game losing streak that has reduced their postseason chances. They sit 12th in the West and are now five full games back of the No. 10 Mavericks with just 16 left to play.

Whether or not Portland is eliminated from the postseason race in the coming weeks, Thybulle should get an opportunity to compete for rotation minutes and make a case for a spot on next season’s roster. The sixth-year veteran holds an $11.55MM player option that he’ll almost certainly exercise, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the Blazers will bring him back for 2025/26, since he could become an offseason trade candidate on that expiring deal.

Stein’s Latest: Davis, Lively, Mavs, Durant, Billups, More

March 10th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Perhaps the most interesting development in Sunday’s matchup between Phoenix and Dallas was something that took place off the court, as Mavericks big man Anthony Davis was on the bench and was “clearly itching to play,” according to NBA insider Marc Stein (Substack link).

Stein hears that Davis played some 2-on-2 over the weekend for the first time since he strained his left adductor on February 8 in his Dallas debut.

League sources tell Stein that both Davis and Dereck Lively, who is on the mend from a stress fracture in his right ankle, are on track to get healthy before the end of the season. However, that doesn’t mean they’ll actually suit up again for the Mavericks in 2024/25.

Amid a brutal wave of injuries, including losing Kyrie Irving to a torn ACL, the Mavs have dropped five straight games and are only 1.5 games ahead of Phoenix for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. And even if they hold onto the No. 10 seed, they’d have to win two straight road games in the play-in tournament to advance as the No. 8 seed, only to face the top-seeded Thunder in the first round.

As Stein observes, any hope the Mavericks had of another deep playoff run have been extinguished. Prioritizing the team’s odds of securing a lottery pick — and avoiding the possibility of Davis and Lively re-injuring themselves — is the most logical path for Dallas to take for the remainder of ’24/25.

Here’s more from Stein:

Although the Mavericks have been “repeatedly described” as a possible suitor for Suns forward Kevin Durant, both before and after last month’s trade deadline, Stein hears Dallas’ interest in Durant has been “overstated.” The Mavs’ depth would take a major blow if they try to trade for Durant, Stein notes, and they also lack future draft capital, which is why focusing on landing a lottery pick in June’s draft makes sense. Retaining Irving, who holds a $44MM player option for ’25/26, is a “priority” for Dallas, per Stein.
When asked by Stein how strange it was to play in Dallas knowing that the Mavericks traded away Luka Doncic, Suns guard Devin Booker replied, “You can feel it. You can feel it when you land.”
Scouts and executives from around the NBA are very curious what the future holds for Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, according to Stein. Before — and even during — the season, many around the league believed the two sides were destined to part ways, but Portland’s improved play has observers wondering if the team will exercise its option on Billups or perhaps give him a new contract. If the Blazers decide not to retain Billups, he would become an “in-demand coaching free agent,” Stein writes.
Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, Wizards assistant Adam Caporn, former Germany head coach Gordon Herbert, and veteran NBA assistant Will Weaver are among the the candidates to be named the next head coach of Australia’s national team, according to Stein. The Boomers finished in sixth place at the 2024 Olympics in Paris after claiming their first medal in men’s basketball — a bronze — in Tokyo.

Matisse Thybulle May Be Nearing Season Debut

March 10th, 2025 at 9:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Trail Blazers swingman Matisse Thybulle is moving closer to making his season debut, tweets Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report. Thybulle will practice with Portland’s G League affiliate this week as part of his reconditioning and could be cleared to play on the upcoming homestand.

Windhorst/Bontemps’ Latest: Mavs, Lakers, Warriors, Blazers

March 7th, 2025 at 8:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Back in 2023, the Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving in a trade-deadline blockbuster, missed the postseason, then used a lottery pick that June to draft Dereck Lively, who played a major role on the team that made the NBA Finals in 2024. An injury-plagued Mavs team appears headed for a repeat of their 2023 finish this spring and may need to replicate their ’23 draft lottery success this offseason in order to put themselves in position to bounce back in 2025/26, as Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps write for ESPN.com (Insider link).

“When you have a setback like they’ve suffered, you have to identify what you can control and focus on improvement there,” a league executive told Windhorst. “They don’t control their first-round pick from 2027 to 2030, and this is a good draft.”

While Bontemps advocated on a recent Hoop Collective podcast for the Mavericks to trade Anthony Davis this summer, there’s no indication the organization will consider taking a step back by exploring that possibility.

One league executive told Bontemps that the Mavs are “doubling down” on their current group, while another predicted that the team will sign Irving to a long-term contract this summer even as he recovers from an ACL tear. That exec suggested the deal could start below Irving’s $43MM player option for 2025/26 in order to give the club some extra cap flexibility next season.

As for the Mavs’ outlook for the rest of this season? There’s not much optimism on that front from outside observers, given how thoroughly the roster has been decimated by health issues.

“Dallas is just hopeless right now,” one scout told ESPN. “There’s just no scoring ability without Kyrie. There’s just not enough talent with all these injuries.”

Here’s more from Windhorst and Bontemps:

Within a discussion about whether or not the Lakers‘ recent defensive performance is sustainable, Windhorst notes that the Luka Doncic trade has had an added benefit in Los Angeles beyond the addition of the 25-year-old superstar. “They didn’t just trade for Luka,” one league executive said. “They also traded for a more engaged LeBron (James).” Head coach J.J. Redick told reporters last week that James has been playing at an All-Defensive level as of late.
Although Jimmy Butler‘s numbers with Golden State have been modest – his .451 FG% and .143 3PT% are well below his career rates – the Warriors have a +13.5 net rating during his 341 minutes so far and he has transformed the team into a far more dangerous postseason opponent. “No one will want to play them in the playoffs,” one scout told Bontemps. “Jimmy with fresh legs and motivation … honeymoon-phase Jimmy is a motherf—er. … He’s not a franchise player in that he doesn’t do it in the regular season, but when it comes to the playoffs, he’s a franchise player. He’s a superstar when you need to be winning.”
Rival executives and scouts have been impressed by the Trail Blazers, who have won 15 of their last 22 games and remain in the postseason hunt, just four games back of No. 10 Dallas. Head coach Chauncey Billups has earned praise for how he has handled the rotation. “They have their guys in the right roles now,” one Eastern Conference scout told Bontemps. “It’s not that they don’t believe in [Shaedon] Sharpe now that he’s their scorer off the bench, but that’s the best role for him right now with this current team. … You go up and down the roster, and specifically with the young guys, that’s helped them a lot.”

Northwest Notes: SGA, Filipowski, McDaniels, Henderson, Billups

March 6th, 2025 at 8:14pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is fresh off his fourth 50-point game in the past seven weeks and currently appears to be the favorite for the league’s Most Valuable Player award. As Fred Katz of The Athletic writes, an unmatched motor and a strong summertime workout routine helped Gilgeous-Alexander take what used to be an unconventional route to superstardom (none of the top three presumed MVP vote-earners were top-10 picks).

“He’s ahead of his time,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “Intuitively, he’s where the scientific research is, which is you wanna be making decisions. You want randomness in your workouts. You want variability. You want interweaving in the workout. He kinda does that naturally.”

Gilgeous-Alexander is breaking through the trend of high-usage players seeing efficiency taper off. His 64.5% true shooting percentage and 34.6% usage percentage are both career highs and lead most guards in the league.

“It’s like LeBron [James] in his prime, Giannis [Antetokounmpo], the speed of [Ja] Morant, the speed and power of [Russell] Westbrook; he’s a great athlete, but he’s not an overpowering athlete, where those guys are,” Daigneault said. “And yet, he gets to the same places on the floor as they do. And to me, that says it all about the skill.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Jazz rookie big man Kyle Filipowski is coming off two of the best games of his career, scoring 25 points on Monday and going for 23 and 13 rebounds on Wednesday. Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune explores whether Filipowski is better suited to be playing the four or the five for the Jazz moving forward. Larsen opines that, while Filipowski isn’t the strongest interior defender, he’s probably best suited for the center position. “The responsibility between a four and a three on offense sometimes [doesn’t differ] very much,” head coach Will Hardy said. “The responsibilities between four and five are very different, and so Flip has had to deal with a lot of change throughout the season … He deserves a lot of credit, because that’s a hard thing. We have a lot of guys who are trying to learn their responsibilities at one position, and Flip’s doing it at two.”
Jaden McDaniels offensive emergence is key to the Timberwolves‘ playoff push, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. In his last 12 games, McDaniels has averaged 19.2 points and 3.0 assists per game — in his first 52 games, he put up just 11.0 PPG and 1.7 APG. The forward’s three-point volume has also gone up — he launched a season-high nine outside attempts on Wednesday. He’s also on a different level now as a rebounder than he ever has been. “He can do a lot of different things, and he works his butt off,” teammate Julius Randle said. “We need him to play with that confidence because it gives us a whole different level as a team.”
Scoot Henderson is continuing to emerge as a more consistent player, but Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link) doesn’t see the former No. 3 overall pick returning to the starting lineup soon. Because the Trail Blazers are still in contention for a play-in spot, a shake-up might not make sense at this juncture. If Portland is eliminated, the club may switch things up.
In the same article, Highkin explores the Trail Blazers‘ three options with Chauncey Billups this summer. Billups has shown he’s grown as a coach with Portland’s turnaround, Highkin writes, so they could either pick up the fifth-year option he has for next season, sign him to an extension, or mutually allow him to look for other opportunities.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Thunder, Reath, Blazers

March 4th, 2025 at 3:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Jazz were missing several regulars and only lost by seven points, head coach Will Hardy wasn’t happy with what he saw from his team on Sunday at home vs. New Orleans. As Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscription required) relays, Hardy had plenty to say after a 128-121 loss in which Utah gave up 76 points in the paint.

“Everybody wants to play more, and then you get a chance to do it, and you go out there and you don’t execute, that’s frustrating,” Hardy said. “… The frustrating part is that there’s so much opportunity on our team right now, and all of these young players are getting an opportunity to show us who they are, what they are, and that opportunity needs to be met with the desperation that it deserves.”

None of the 10 Jazz players who saw minutes on Sunday are older than 26 years old, while their oldest starter in the game was 24-year-old KJ Martin, so an already young team was even younger in that game vs. the Pelicans.

“No one cares what your résumé was before you got here,” Hardy continued. “I don’t care how many points you scored in high school. I don’t care what you were ranked coming out of high school. It doesn’t matter where you played in college. Doesn’t matter how many wins you got in college. It doesn’t matter how many points you scored in college. Your Instagram followers mean nothing to me. This is a job … this is a profession, and it needs to be treated as such.”

Utah had Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton back in its starting five on Monday against Detroit after they missed Sunday’s game, but the club didn’t fare any better on the second end of a back-to-back set, falling by 28 points at home to the Pistons.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

The Thunder‘s top two scorers were firing on all cylinders in the team’s past two games, as Jalen Williams poured in a career-high 41 points in Sunday’s win over San Antonio (story via Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander racked up 51 in Monday’s win over Houston for his fourth 50-point game since January 22 (story via ESPN.com). “Whether it’s 50, whether it’s 27, whether it’s 17 — as long as we win, I have fun with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on Monday. “… Like, you don’t play the game to score a bunch of points. You don’t play the game to get a bunch of rebounds or assists or steals. … You don’t play for anything besides to win, and that’s what it’s all about.”
As the fourth center on the Trail Blazers‘ depth chart behind Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams, and lottery pick Donovan Clingan, Duop Reath hasn’t gotten a chance to play much this season. But he has taken advantage of a chance to play rotation minutes in Portland’s past two games, scoring 20 points in a total of 41 minutes on Sunday and Monday with Ayton and Williams out, writes Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. “(Reath) was playing great,” Anfernee Simons said after Monday’s win. “Obviously, having not been playing, staying ready at all times, being professional and coming in doing his job when his numbers is called. We all know what Duop is capable of. Each and every time we know we’re going to get the best out of him.”
In a mailbag, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (Substack link) considers why the Trail Blazers haven’t “embraced the tank” this season, explores whether it makes sense for Portland to pursue win-now moves this summer, and acknowledges that it may difficult for the team to find a good deal for Jerami Grant on the trade market this offseason.

Cavs’ Mobley, Blazers’ Camara Named Defensive Players Of The Month

March 4th, 2025 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley has been named February’s Defensive Player of the Month for the Eastern Conference, while Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara has earned the honor in the Western Conference, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

Mobley joins teammate Donovan Mitchell, who was named Player of the Month in the East, as award winners for February after the Cavs won 10 of 11 games over the course of the month. Cleveland had the best defensive rating (108.0) of any Eastern team in February, with Mobley anchoring that unit.

According to the league, Mobley was second among East players in blocks per game (2.3) in February and ranked third in the conference in contested shots per game (11.5).

The ascendant fourth-year forward/center, who was also named the East’s Defensive Player of the Month for December, is considered one of the frontrunners for this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

As for Camara, the second-year forward has been establishing himself as one of the NBA’s best wing defenders this season. According to the NBA, he ranked fourth in the conference in steals per game (2.0) in February and was the only player in the conference to compile at least 50 defensive rebounds, 20 steals, and 10 blocks for the month.

Portland entered February with a 19-29 record, but won eight of 12 games over the course of the month and had the fourth-best defensive rating in the NBA (109.2) during that time.

Nets center Nic Claxton, Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, Pacers center Myles Turner, and Pistons teammates Isaiah Stewart and Ausar Thompson were also nominated for the award in the Eastern Conference, while Thunder wing Luguentz Dort, Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., Rockets swingman Amen Thompson, and Clippers teammates Kris Dunn and Ivica Zubac were nominated in the West, per the league (Twitter link).

Meyers Leonard Announces Retirement

March 3rd, 2025 at 7:58am CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA big man Meyers Leonard has officially retired as a basketball player, announcing the news on Instagram (hat tip to Chris Haynes).

After playing a modest role as a freshman at Illinois, Leonard had a breakout sophomore season back in 2011/12 with the Illini and was selected 11th overall in the 2012 draft.

Leonard, who turned 33 years old last week, spent his first seven seasons with the Trail Blazers prior to being traded to the Heat as part of the Jimmy Butler blockbuster in 2019.

Leonard’s time in Miami was not without controversy, as he was fined $50K by the NBA and suspended from all team activities for a week for making an anti-Semitic comment during a Twitch livestream. Shortly after the incident, he was traded to — and subsequently released by — Oklahoma City.

After missing the entire ’21/22 campaign due to an injury, Leonard was able to find a new team in February 2023, signing a pair of 10-day deals and then a rest-of-season contract with the Bucks. He has been a free agent since the 2023 offseason, when his tenure with Milwaukee ended.

Overall, Leonard played parts of 10 NBA seasons, averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game across 456 regular season appearances, including 95 starts. He mostly played center, but he also saw some time at power forward in his first few seasons. Leonard was known for his ability to space the floor, as he held a career mark of 39.0% from three-point range.

Northwest Notes: Watson, SGA, R. Williams, Timberwolves

February 28th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Nuggets forward Peyton Watson, who has been sidelined since January 31 due to a sprained right knee, was ruled out for at least four weeks when the injury was first diagnosed. His absence is expected to extend a little beyond that initial timeline, head coach Michael Malone said on Thursday.

“He’s still got some hurdles to clear,” Malone said on Thursday, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscription required). “Heading in the right direction. … I don’t know, maybe another seven to 10 days, kind of see what happens after this road trip, when we get back after the Boston game (on Sunday). Kind of reassess everything. But he’s definitely making progress, and hopefully he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”

According to Durando, Watson played 3-on-3 with teammates this week, but continued to wear a brace on his right leg during that session.

Watson has further solidified his place in the rotation in his third year with the Nuggets after averaging 18.6 minutes per game across 80 appearances in 2023/24. Through 48 games this season, he has averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 24.1 minutes per night, with a .471/.340/.752 shooting line.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

Asked about his decision to part ways with his agents before becoming eligible for a super-max extension this summer, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said it wasn’t just about avoiding agent fees on his upcoming mega-deal, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “It wasn’t entirely that,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think, for myself, I wanna be a well-rounded human being. Not just a basketball player — a business man, a father, a husband. I want to check all the boxes. I think it would be a good experience for me to learn and get better in another area of life.”
Trail Blazers big man Robert Williams, who is dealing with a left knee sprain, will remain inactive for the rest of the team’s road trip, which runs through next Friday in Oklahoma City, reports Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Williams has been out since February 20 and hasn’t played in two consecutive games in over a month.
Anthony Edwards‘ one-game suspension, which he served on Friday, will cost him $242,393, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. That’s 1/174th of Edwards’ $42,176,400 salary for the season. The Timberwolves will receive a tax variance credit of $121,196, Marks adds, which projects to reduce their end-of-season tax bill by about $515K.
Speaking to Mark Medina of Sportskeeda, Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker discussed the process of establishing himself as a reliable rotation player in Minnesota and brushed off a question about his upcoming unrestricted free agency. “Truthfully, the preparation is to let the time come when it comes and not get ahead of yourself,” Alexander-Walker said. “It’s something for me to learn now. The season’s not done. I’m still trying to win a championship. This organization has given me so much. So I want to continue to pour into the opportunity that I have and see what I can do with it.”

Northwest Notes: Nnaji, DiVincenzo, Clark, Avdija

February 26th, 2025 at 11:00pm CST by Rory Maher

Big man Zeke Nnaji has largely been outside of the Nuggets‘ rotation in 2024/25. However, a knee injury to Peyton Watson has opened up minutes at backup power forward, and Nnaji has been performing well of late, writes Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (subscriber link).

“This is probably the first time in a while that he has an opportunity to play big minutes, important minutes and a lot of minutes. He’s good,” Nikola Jokic said of Nnaji. “He’s decisive. When he’s open, he shoots. He’s aggressive. He’s attacking the boards. He’s still probably trying to kind of figure it out, but I think he’s doing a really good job.”

Nnaji, 24, was involved in trade rumors leading up to the deadline earlier this month in part because he has fifth-highest salary on the team. General manager Calvin Booth later confirmed that Nnaji came up in trade talks, but since he was rarely playing, his long-term contract was almost certainly viewed as a negative asset.

With Watson sidelined and Nnaji playing his preferred position, he has averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.0 steal and 1.4 blocks on .566/.368/.700 shooting over the past 10 games (21.4 minutes per contest). Would Michael Malone be comfortable turning to Nnaji for spot minutes if he’s needed in the postseason?

“Without getting too far ahead of ourselves, just continue to be present,” Malone said when asked if there’s a path to playoff minutes. “Continue to be in the moment. And I think Zeke’s done that. Ever since Peyton Watson went out, Zeke’s been called upon. … He’s stayed ready. He’s gone out there and done his job. And he’s shown that he belongs out there. So I have all the confidence in the world if I have to call upon Zeke Nnaji at any point the remainder of this season, I feel really confident about doing that. And so do his teammates. I think that’s even more important.”

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Timberwolves guard Donte DiVincenzo has been out since Jan. 15 due to a left great toe sprain, but he has a chance to return to action soon. He’s officially listed as questionable for Thursday’s contest at the Lakers, the Wolves announced (via Twitter). ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this week that both DiVincenzo and Julius Randle (right groin strain) could return at some point this week. Randle will be out Thursday, with two additional games (at Utah on Friday, at Phoenix on Sunday) scheduled on Minnesota’s road trip.
Jaylen Clark will reportedly be converted from a two-way contract to a standard deal, with Bones Hyland taking Clark’s old two-way spot. Asked about his impending promotion on Wednesday, the Timberwolves guard said he was thrilled by the news, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune (Twitter link). “I love being in Minnesota, I’m excited,” Clark said. “It feels like I’m officially a part of everything. I can play in the playoffs. It’s been cool. The journey has been long, but it’s been well worthwhile.”
Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija sustained a quad injury in the first half of Wednesday’s win in Washington. After initially being listed as questionable to return, he was later ruled out for the remainder of the contest (Twitter link). It’s unclear if the injury will cause Avdija to miss additional time, but hopefully it’s good news that he wasn’t immediately ruled out.