Matisse Thybulle’s defence of interim head coach Tiago Splitter has gone viral after the Portland Trail Blazers were eliminated from the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs.
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Thybulle, often one of the most thoughtful and considerate players in the game, fronted the media for his exit interview after Portland was knocked out by San Antonio in the first round.
The American-Australian’s own future is in question as he prepares to enter unrestricted free agency, but even if Thybulle’s time is up in Portland he left a lasting impression when it came to his thoughts on the job Splitter did.
“On the court, there’s a term – if it’s late in the shot clock and someone throws you the ball because they don’t have a good look, and you have to shoot it with no time left, they call it a ‘grenade’. In a sense, that’s kind of what Tiago was thrown,” Thybulle told reporters, with a post of his answer on ‘X’ receiving over 20,000 likes.
“We beat the projections of what we were supposed to be capable of with a good, healthy team and a normal situation.
“Tiago took on a job that wasn’t originally planned and a roster that didn’t get stable until the last couple of games of the season.
“In some cases, it’s a bit of a miracle. But even if you overachieve, it can still be disappointing for people.
“As far as I’m concerned, Tiago did an amazing job — he knocked it out of the park.
“But from the outside, we didn’t perform well in the playoffs. We had ups and downs.
“If you look at the big picture, I don’t know how many people could replicate what he did with what he had.”
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Splitter took over as interim coach after Chauncey Billups was arrested in October following a federal investigation into illegal gambling activities.
The Trail Blazers had a 42-40 record since that point, going on to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2021.
Splitter was later given a raise from his assistant coaching salary according to ESPN, while the prospect of a long-term contract was later discussed.
But the salary presented to Splitter was much lower than what is presented to most NBA head coaches according to Shelburne.
Multiple sources, however, told The Athletic that no offer has been made to Splitter despite reports indicating Portland has also tried to low-ball college coaches in its search.
Either way, for some people the fact the Trail Blazers were looking to potentially replace Splitter while their series against the Spurs was still ongoing did not reflect well on the organisation.
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“The amount of disrespect (toward Splitter) that’s going on is beyond description,” a league source told The Athletic.
“It’s like, every day, a new name is coming up. It’s the most vicious thing I’ve encountered in 30-plus years.”
New Trail Blazers owner Tom Dundon, meanwhile, has come under widespread scrutiny for cost-cutting measures since taking over in the role, including not allowing two-way contract players to travel to games in the first-round series against the Spurs.
Instead, they were made to watch the games unfold from home.
Splitter had a tough job taking over an injury-riddled team that was rocked by the Billups investigation, with Thybulle telling reporters “everyone was willing to throw themselves into the fire” in the wake of the news.
“I don’t know if I’ve seen anything like it before,” he said.
“Everyone here is competent – that’s how you get here – but the quality of character is what stands out.
“People were able to put their pride, ego, and agendas aside. None of this works if you don’t buy in at every level – coaches, trainers, players.
“Nothing went according to plan, but we still pulled it out.
“That has everything to do with the quality of people in the building, more than anything else.
“Everyone was willing to throw themselves into the fire and make it about the main thing – trying to win games and do what’s best for the team.”