Lakers linked to 2-time All-Defensive forward to help Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves

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Now that the Los Angeles Lakers are without LeBron James, their focus on getting key players to help Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is even more important.

Losing James is quite a blow to the franchise, but it was time for these parties to go their separate ways, and now both the Lakers and James are moving forward with plans factoring in their new reality.

For the Lakers, they have to lock in a steady player to help Doncic and Reaves. Rookies are great, but they need a veteran and someone who can hit the ground running when the season starts. And they may have already done just that.

Lakers take interest in free agent with strong defensive skills

According to NBA insider Marc Stein and his Marc Stein Report, the Lakers are interested in free agent Matisse Thybulle.

"The Lakers have again broadened their search for perimeter defense, league sources say, registering interest this week in free agent Matisse Thybulle," he stated on X on Thursday. "They have already added Ziaire Williams while also continuing to pursue Jonathan Kuminga."

Thybulle has split his time in the NBA between the Philadelphia 76ers and, most recently, Portland Trail Blazers. He's considered an elite defender, but his scoring has been weak at times, toting career averages of 5.0 points and 1.1 assists per game. Still, the Lakers could absolutely benefit from having someone with these defense skills on their roster. He was a member of the All-Defensive second team in 2021 and 2022 with the 76ers and has averaged 1.6 steals in 20.6 minutes per game throughout his NBA career. Thybulle would make for a strong addition to the Lakers, if they choose to go that route.