Monday, ESPN’s Shams Charania announced the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to terms on a one-year $3.3 million contract with free agent forward Matisse Thybulle.
Free agent forward Matisse Thybulle has agreed on one-year, $3.3 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/h1JCsx1e6h
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 20, 2026
The Lakers have been one of the more active NBA franchises during the 2026 NBA offseason in terms of roster moves.
With the addition of Thybulle, the Lakers now have 16 guaranteed contracts, which puts the franchise in a position where they will either need to waive or trade away one of their guaranteed contracts to adjust their roster size to 15 maximum standard NBA contracts, according to ESPN's David McMenamin.
Thybulle’s addition put the Lakers at 16 guaranteed contracts at the moment. They will need to move or waive one player by opening night to accommodate him https://t.co/l8fxjbHSo6
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) July 20, 2026
The Lakers’ roster crunch presents a golden (and purple) opportunity for the Chicago Bulls to be the best trade partner possible by bringing their vacant 15th roster spot and a $9.4 million room mid-level exception to the Lakers’ bargaining table to acquire the best asset the Lakers can offer to fit the Bulls' rebuild, 21-year-old guard Bronny James.
A simple trade package of the Bulls acquiring James into their room exception and sending the Lakers cash considerations (wink-wink) should serve the needs of both the Bulls and Lakers in this scenario.
Separating the player from the name
Putting aside the name association James has with his father and 23-year NBA veteran LeBron James Sr., the younger James showed an important development signal in the second year of his NBA career with the Lakers that makes him an ideal flyer to add to the Bulls’ burgeoning rebuild.
James' three-point percentage took a big leap from his rookie NBA season (28.1%) to his second NBA season (38.6%), the 2025-26 NBA season, according to Basketball Reference. For volume context, on a per-36 minutes basis, James holds a career average of 5.8 three-point attempts across his two NBA seasons, according to Basketball Reference.
So the primary player development experiment for James should be achieving a sharp increase in his standard per-game three-point shooting volume with the goal of maintaining or improving upon his 38.6% three-point shooting percentage.
Shooting aside, Bronny James is a serviceable point guard who averaged 4.9 assists per 36 minutes and 2.4 turnovers per 36 minutes during the 2025-26 NBA season, according to Basketball Reference.
Acquiring James to be the Bulls’ second unit point guard would also create a viable opportunity to cash in on Tre Jones’ incredibly valuable contract between now and the 2027 NBA trade deadline. Overall, the Bulls shouldn’t neglect the opportunity to bolster their roster depth with cost-effective ball handling and shooting.
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