Matisse Thybulle is an excellent low-risk, high-reward type of signing at this stage of the offseason. The Los Angeles Lakers looked at the veteran wing stopper and saw just that, inking him to a team-friendly veteran minimum deal for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Shams Charania reported: "Thybulle, a two-time All-Defense team member, spoke with JJ Redick and Luka Doncic about the Lakers desire to sign him and his role during free agency and chose the opportunity on Monday."
Surely, Thybulle's new deal means Jarred Vanderbilt will finally be on his way out of Los Angeles as the next step for the Lakers. That idea has floated consistently throughout the offseason. The move is overdue, and should be on its way in some shape or form.
Jarred Vanderbilt's time in Los Angeles is ticking after Matisse Thybulle addition
Vanderbilt is owed $12.4 million in 2026-27. That is a lot of money for someone who is not expected to play a significant role for the Lakers next season. Vando is even owed close to $13.3 million in the campaign that follows the upcoming one.
The money no longer makes sense for the Lakers. That is why they have one of two clear options to get rid of Vanderbilt.
The first of those would be to package him away with another player in a two-for-one consolidation trade. While some think Jonathan Kuminga no longer makes sense for the Lakers after Thybulle's addition, moving off Vanderbilt and another player in a sign-and-trade is still a very viable path for the franchise to explore.
If the Lakers cannot find a willing trade option for Vando at an agreeable cost, Rob Pelinka could also explore the idea of waive-and-stretching the remainder of Vanderbilt's contract to just flat-out dump him to free agency. That is the less preferrable option, but it may be a necessary maneuver.
Not many teams will be jumping at the opportunity to absorb the $25.7 million remaining on Vanderbilt's deal without strong draft pick compensation to pay for such a move. The Lakers are limited to trading either one remaining pick swap or their three second-round selections.
If another team is pressing Los Angeles to surrender the entire farm just for Vanderbilt's money to be cleared off the books in Hollywood, it could make more sense for the Lakers to just eat it themselves at a lesser number over the next few years following a waive-and-stretch.
Whichever of these two methods that Pelinka prefers, Vando does stick out as the odd man after the Lakers bumped their roster count up to 16. That will give him little to no job security as Los Angeles pursues their next move.
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