The Lakers spent the summer trying to clear room and reshape the roster, but Jarred Vanderbilt has remained one of the toughest pieces to move.
Los Angeles has been shopping both Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht in an effort to create more flexibility and chase a starting-caliber addition. NBA reporter Evan Sidery said the Lakers were looking at ways to package their assets after adding two second-round picks in the Deandre Ayton trade, writing, “The Lakers are actively shopping Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt in trade talks. After gaining two second-round picks in the Deandre Ayton trade, Los Angeles could consolidate those assets in a deal immediately for a starting-caliber wing," NBA reporter Evan Sidery wrote.
Vanderbilt’s contract has not drawn much interest, though, no matter what the Lakers were willing to attach to it. That reality became especially obvious when Los Angeles tried to work through a sign-and-trade for Jonathan Kuminga.
According to Sidery, the Hawks were not interested in taking on Vanderbilt, which pushed the Lakers to look for other ways to make the deal work. Sidery wrote, “Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade discussions between the Hawks and Lakersare picking up steam.
With Atlanta still not interested in taking on Jarred Vanderbilt, LA is looking for facilitators to acquire Jaden Hardy and Dalton Knecht. The Lakers would send Atlanta draft capital," Sidery wrote.
The deal never came together. Kuminga ended up signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves instead, leaving Vanderbilt still on the roster and the Lakers still searching for answers.
Lake Show Life’s Syvatoslav Rovenchuk called that outcome a real miss for Los Angeles, writing, “The failure to move on from Vanderbilt will be a touch disappointing for Lakers fans. Given the nuanced lack of leverage in both scenarios where Los Angeles might have done it, it is a justifiable failure,” Rovenchuk wrote.
Now the concern is straightforward: if Vanderbilt again can’t offer enough on offense, especially from the corner three, he could wind up buried on the bench for another season. The Lakers wanted to avoid that, but moving him might also have opened the door to landing a potential starter through the trade market.
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Clippers Face A Risky Lakers Decision With Veteran Big Man
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For the Lakers, the appeal is obvious: Lopez would bring a different look to the frontcourt and give Doncic another dependable option in the half court. For the Clippers, though, the decision would be riskier, since moving a veteran center with that skill set is never just about the return package, it is also about what gets left behind in the middle of the rotation and whether the front office is comfortable reshaping that position again. [Read more 🡒]