Jarred Vanderbilt gets crucial injury update for Warriors clash
01/24/2025 08:48 PM
The Los Angeles Lakers have not fielded a healthy roster all season, but they took a step closer towards being whole with their upcoming game this weekend against the Golden State Warriors. Jarred Vanderbilt, who has not made his season debut yet due to injury recovery, was noticeably absent from the Lakers' injury report, as per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
Jarred Vanderbilt's return to the Lakers' lineup from injury against the Warriors is crucial in the sense that the Lakers are closer to being healthy, but also because of how it could shape the Lakers' trade deadline plans.
The Lakers originally acquired Vanderbilt in a three team trade at the 2023 deadline that also involved D'Angelo Russell and Malik Beasley coming to Los Angeles. The Lakers had already traded for Rui Hachimura earlier that season, and they used the momentum from the trades to make a run to the Western Conference Finals.
Since then, Vanderbilt's time with the Lakers has been marred by injury. He missed the majority of last season due to injury. He was available to make his return for Game 5 of the Lakers' first round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, but did not appear in the game.
Vanderbilt underwent multiple foot surgeries this past offseason, and has been sidelined since the start of the year.
Jarred Vanderbilt shapes Lakers' trade deadline
With the NBA trade deadline approaching, the Lakers are a team that have been mentioned as potentially being active as buyers. But one of the big things that will reportedly influence the Lakers' trade deadline strategy is Vanderbilt's impact on the rotation.
It's obviously going to take Vanderbilt some time to get back up to game speed, potentially leaving the Lakers with not much time for a true evaluation before the deadline arrives.
When Vanderbilt was last healthy, during the second half of the 2023 season, he averaged 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 52.9 percent shooting from the field and 78.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Vanderbilt seems like a particularly good fit for head coach JJ Redick's system as a small-ball center with switching capabilities on the defensive end of the court.
The way Vanderbilt's return could impact the Lakers' trade deadline plans is regarding another big man. Recently, Anthony Davis made a plea for the team to acquire another true center. When the Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship, they had another big man starting alongside Davis in either JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard.
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