Lakers sign former All-Defense team member to 1-year deal

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Lakers sign former All-Defense team member to 1-year deal

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jul 20, 2026 3:51 PM ET

The Los Angeles Lakers are upgrading their perimeter defense with a free agent move they made on Monday.

The Lakers have agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million contract with wing Matisse Thybulle, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. The agreement comes after Thybulle spoke with both JJ Redick and Luka Doncic about his potential role with the team.

Thybulle, a two-time All-Defense team member, spoke with JJ Redick and Luka Doncic about the Lakers desire to sign him and his role during free agency and chose the opportunity on Monday. Thybulle shot 41.8% from 3 over the last two years across 45 games — and led the NBA in… https://t.co/yTvqUNQ8uF
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 20, 2026

Thybulle might serve as a replacement for Marcus Smart, a defense-first guard who left to join the Houston Rockets this offseason. He has been a consistently elite defender throughout his career and averaged over two steals per game in each of his last two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. As an added bonus, he also flashed some improved outside shooting by posting a 41.1 percent mark from three over the last two seasons.

Injuries have limited Thybulle to 45 games over the last two seasons, but the clear hope is that those issues are in the past.

The Lakers are not necessarily done in free agency, but Thybulle does fill a key need on the perimeter. Clearly, he should be in line for a fairly significant role based on the assurances he evidently received from Redick and Doncic.

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