Latest Jarred Vanderbilt Injury Update Confirms the Worst

The Los Angeles Lakers frontcourt is in serious trouble ahead of the NBA trade deadline after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that forward Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss several weeks with a right foot injury.

Wojnarowski added that a further evaluation was expected to see if the foot injury could keep the veteran forward out longer. Sadly, that may be the case for Vanderbilt.

Lakers Rumors: Jarred Vanderbilt’s 2023-24 Season Likely Over?

Lakers Lounge host Anthony Irwin reported on Sunday night that “several people close to the situation fear that Jarred Vanderbilt’s season is likely over.” Irwin also said that Los Angeles is moving forward “as if they won’t have him available for the rest of the year.”

If you are a Lakers fan, this isn’t the news you wanted to hear, as the team is fighting to get out of the play-in game and into a top-six seed in the Western Conference. Vanderbilt had a heel injury in the preseason that kept him out until December.

In 29 games this season, the 24-year-old forward is averaging 5.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. Vanderbilt doesn’t have amazing stats, but he helps the Lakers out a ton on defense and is one of the better rebounders on the team.

Without Vanderbilt for the foreseeable future, the Lakers must lean on Taurean Prince and Jaxson Hayes, who provided tremendous production off the bench in Los Angeles’ eight-point win over the New York Knicks on Saturday night. 

Prince scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range in 33 minutes, while Hayes had 10 points in 13 minutes of action. 

Along with those two players, don’t be shocked to see Los Angeles explore the trade market for available big men despite not having a ton of assets to move around. Last season, we saw the Lakers revamp their roster ahead of the trade deadline, which helped them get to the Western Conference Finals.

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