The Los Angeles Lakers may be entering training camp with a full roster, but there is significant concern over one pivotal power forward. Jarred Vanderbilt has not seen an NBA floor since Feb. 1, when he notched ten points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists in a road win over the Celtics. Since then, he has spent time recovering from left heel bursitis. It’s an injury that has taken Vanderbilt a long while to rehab from, and according to new rumors, that timeline could stretch into the upcoming season.
Lakers Rumors: Key Forward May Not Be Ready for Training Camp
Lakers Analyst Voices Concern over Vanderbilt
Mike Bresnahan, a Lakers analyst for Spectrum Sportsnet and co-host of the network’s “Lakeshow” podcast, fielded a question regarding whether Vanderbilt and fellow Laker Gabe Vincent would be ready for the upcoming season. When discussing the former Kentucky forward, Bresnahan said:
“Vando’s gonna be interesting. I’m not sure he’ll be ready for training camp or even for the preseason games…He opted not to have a procedure in-season when he got hurt in February, 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 [is a] different story. Hopefully he’s ready by then, but nothing concrete on him yet.”
Across 29 games, Vanderbilt averaged 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on .518/.296/.667 splits. Injuries were the unfortunate storyline of the 25-year-old’s sixth year in the league. He had missed the first 20 games of last season due to a similar issue with his heel, and debuted on Dec. 2 against the Rockets. In only 13 minutes of action, Vanderbilt went scoreless but grabbed four rebounds and dished out one assist. He continued to ramp up slowly before getting into a groove in January. According to Silver Screen & Roll’s Alex Regla:
“From the start of January and before his eventual season-ending injury, Vanderbilt had the best scoring stretch of his young career, shooting 77% at the rim, 54% from three and posting an eFG% of 67.4%.”
As Bresnahan mentioned, Vanderbilt decided against surgery in hopes of being available for the Lakers in the playoffs. However, that was not the case, and the team sorely missed him as they were swept by the Nuggets in the first-round of this year’s playoffs.
Where the Lakers Go From Here
Starting training camp without a prominent player in Vanderbilt is clearly not ideal for the Lakers, who enter this season having to learn a new system under head coach JJ Redick. As he’s proven in the past year and change with LA, Vanderbilt is one of the team’s best defensive players who provides size and versatility next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He never backs down from elite competition on defense and has made an effort to improve his offensive repertoire. Redick has previously discussed Vanderbilt’s importance to the team this season, saying:
“I think the unique thing about Jarred, and a number of really good teams that made deep playoff runs have guys like him, that are energy, defense, ball hawks. He can sort of … I call them energy shifters. He can change the energy of an entire game, and he doesn’t have to do it with scoring, which makes him really unique. I can’t wait to coach him. Obviously he has some rehab to do for the rest of the summer, but when he’s healthy, he’s going to be a big part of what we do.”
While Vanderbilt’s status has yet to be concerned, the Lakers should remain focused on getting him at or near 100%—even if that would result in him missing part of training camp. It’s clear the team does not want a repeat of last season, where injuries to supporting role players derailed their high hopes. Getting Vanderbilt back and fully healthy for October will be a huge step towards any future success.
