Lakers are finally pursuing the player Jarred Vanderbilt was supposed to be

The Los Angeles Lakers traded for and then extended Jarred Vanderbilt with an apparent vision of him becoming the team's defensive ace. In doing so, the Lakers gambled on Vanderbilt developing a serviceable outside shot that would allow him to play meaningful minutes without compromising spacing. Unfortunately, his offensive development never came to pass.

Three long years later, the Lakers are finally pursuing a player who can do everything they hoped Vanderbilt would be able to: Veteran 3-and-D wing Matisse Thybulle.

Thybulle was long criticized for similar reasons as Vanderbilt, as he was an elite defender who struggled to efficiently bury jumpers. In recent years, however, he's quietly developed into an efficient and effective three-point shooter, albeit in a fairly low-volume role.

According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Lakers have expressed interest in signing Thybulle, who's currently an unrestricted free agent.

Thybulle may not be the high-volume player he once was, but he continues to defend at an exceptional level and has quietly become an efficient three-point shooter.

Lakers are eyeing free agent 3-and-D wing Matisse Thybulle

It may sound strange to suggest that Vanderbilt was positioned to be a 3-and-D player, but early results from his Lakers tenure suggest they hoped he could be. In fact, even the two most recent seasons send that message. For instance: He was shooting 33.3 percent from beyond the arc at the time of his acquisition, which was a massive jump from 14.3 percent the previous season.

Vanderbilt had also increased his average attempts per game from 0.2 to 1.1, with that figure even jumping to 1.3 during the regular season and 1.9 during the playoffs as a Laker in 2022-23.

Unfortunately, Vanderbilt has shot no better than 29.6 percent from beyond the arc in any season that's followed. Even still, head coach JJ Redick had Vanderbilt averaging 1.5 three-point field goal attempts per game and a career-high 3.2 per 36 minutes in 2025-26.

In fact, Vanderbilt's two highest career averages in three-point field goal attempts per 36 minutes were both accumulated under Redick. He, unfortunately, struggled to find efficiency.

Matisse Thybulle is what the Lakers need Jarred Vanderbilt to be

Along those same lines, Thybulle shot 35.7 percent from beyond the arc as a rookie, but buried just 30.1 and 31.3 percent of his attempts over the next two seasons. He then shot 33.3 percent through his first 49 appearances with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2022-23, which sealed his fate and resulted in a trade to the Portland Trail Blazers.

In three-and-a-half years with the Trail Blazers, Thybulle made shocking progress and shot 37.4 percent on 3.5 three-point field goal attempts in 21.9 minutes per game.

That's taken a turn for the remarkable in recent years, as Thybulle shot 43.8 percent on 3.2 attempts per game in 2024-25 and 39.8 percent on 3.1 attempts in 2025-26. He did so while continuing to thrive defensively, performing with tremendous results both on and away from the ball.

According to Basketball Index, Thybulle ranked in the 99th percentile in passing lane defense, the 87th percentile in off-ball chaser defense, the 84th percentile in ball screen navigation, and the 69th percentile in perimeter isolation defense in 2025-26.

Perhaps Thybulle isn't the lockdown defender he used to be, but he's absolutely elite in off-ball situations and remains versatile and committed in on-ball scenarios. In 2025-26, he spent at least 22.87 percent of his possessions against each of the three perimeter positions.

A committed and versatile defender who can shoot with efficiency and reasonable volume, Thybulle is everything the Lakers hoped Vanderbilt would become.

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