NBA rumors: Jarred Vanderbilt's status for Lakers camp up in the air
09/06/2024 07:45 PM
The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the 2024-25 NBA season as the only team in the league who did not sign a new free agent in the offseason. A big part of that was due to their salary cap restrictions, and they’ll be hoping for improved on-court cohesiveness under new head coach JJ Redick with virtually the same roster as last season. One player though who is set to return to the court is Jarred Vanderbilt, although he might not be ready for Lakers training camp as per Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet.
During a recent episode of the LakeShow Podcast, Bresnahan speculated that Jarred Vanderbilt may miss the start of Lakers training camp while he continues to recover from a foot injury he suffered back in February. He also mentioned that there is hope Vanderbilt will be ready for the regular season, though.
“Vando’s going to be interesting. I’m not sure he’s going to be ready for training camp or even for the preseason games,” Bresnahan said. “He opted not to have a procedure in season, got hurt in February, and so we’ll see if he’s ready to go. I don’t have a lot of details on it, but I’m not sure he’ll be ready for training camp. Regular season, different story, hopefully he’s ready by then.”
Jarred Vanderbilt is one of the Lakers most versatile defenders
While Vanderbilt might be limited offensively, the energy and productivity he brings on the defensive end as well as on the glass is near unmatched from any of the Lakers role players. His fit alongside Anthony Davis is shaky due to his inability to be a consistent offensive threat, but he brings the ability to guard multiple positions.
The Lakers acquired Vanderbilt in a three team trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz ahead of the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline. His addition helped spark the Lakers to a strong regular season finish and a Western Conference Finals run.
But Vanderbilt was limited to only 29 games during the 2024-25 season due to injury. He suffered a heel injury early in the regular season, and then once he returned to the court he suffered the foot injury that kept him out for the remainder of the year. He returned to the active roster late during the Lakers first round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets but did not see any on-court minutes.
In the games he did play, Vanderbilt averaged 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 51.8 percent shooting from the field, 29.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 66.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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