Trail Blazers News: Portland Vet Shockingly Cut from Olympic Team Roster

He's been sent packing as his club, loaded with NBA talent, gears up to medal in Paris.

Jan 29, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Philadelphia 76ers small forward Marcus Morris Sr. (5) shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers center Duop Reath (26) and guard Matisse Thybulle (4) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports / Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

In a bit of a surprise, veteran Portland Trail Blazers smalll forward Matisse Thybulle has been cut from Team Australia ahead of the Paris Olympics, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN.

Uluc reports that the two-time All-Defensive Second Teamer, who won a bronze medal with the Boomers during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which actually took place in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), had been seen ahead of team workouts as a probable starter. So he's fallen pretty far. All seven other NBA players rostered made the final roster.

"Ultimately, it came down to Thybulle or [Atlanta Hawks point guard] Dyson Daniels. The sense from the coaching staff was that there wasn't room for both within the Boomers' main rotation, and there was a desire to lean more into Daniels as a point-of-attack defender on the wing for this campaign," writes Uluc.

Even with Thybulle, one of Team Australia's best perimeter defenders, suddenly seeing his summer shortened, another Trail Blazers player remains on the team heading into Paris: 2023-24 rookie center Duop Reath.

Tasmania JackJumpers center Will Magnay will be the Boomers' third center, behind Jock Landale and Reath. Per Uluc, Magnay is essentially injury insurance for the other two.

Last season, his first in the NBA, the now-28-year-old Reath posted encouraging averages of averaged 9.1 points on a .461/.359/.742 slash line, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists, across 68 contests for the Trail Blazers (20 starts).

More Trail Blazers: Major Issue Holding Back Possible Jerami Grant Trade