Despite Jarred Vanderbilt impressing during training camp and being healthy for the first time in years, he finds himself on the outside looking in regarding the rotation.
While he didn’t necessarily wow during the early parts of the season, he’s one of the best defenders on a roster that struggles to stop anyone. Seeing him getting six consecutive DNP’s, then, despite being healthy is certainly noticeable.
So why has a player who was key to LA’s Western Conference Finals appearance just a couple of years ago now been unable to earn playing time?
Before the Lakers took on the Suns, head coach JJ Redick explained why Vando has been a bench warmer.
“He’s been good,” Redick said. “He’s been a pro. The most recent stay ready that we had this week, he was great. He’s been a great teammate, so no surprise there. I had communicated to him even before LeBron came back that there were certain things that he needed to be able to do consistently to play before LeBron came back, after LeBron came back and that there was potentially going to be a numbers crunch because we probably were going to play a nine-man rotation and that’s that was just the reality.
“Having said that, it doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be back in the rotation at some point, whether we’re healthy or whether we’re missing a couple of guys. When you’re winning games, it’s hard to redo the rotation mid-winning streak. We’re looking at everything. There were some lineup combinations when we were injured that we had to go away from and he was, I guess, caught up as a sort of innocent bystander in some ways to that. But I certainly have empathy for him and it’s not a fun situation to be in as a coach and it’s certainly not a fun situation for him to be in as a player.”
There’s a lot to unpack here. It’s clear that Vanderbilt’s offensive weakness is what makes him unplayable or, rather, this far down the rotation. When he’s out there, teams don’t respect his shot, and the spacing shrinks. This year, he’s healthy, but shooting a woeful 28% from 3-point range.
He’s not a drive-to-the-rim ball-handler either, so it’s hard to think of how you can better utilize him on offense. Vanderbilt hasn’t developed the skill at the NBA level to have a shot he can rely on or a way to force teams to respect him offensively.
However, he’s arguably the team’s best defender. And on a roster that can’t stop anybody, you’d think there would be a way to find a shift or two for Vando.
The other problem is how the Lakers play defense, it doesn’t highlight Vando’s strong suits. Vanderbilt works best when he is an on-ball defender focused on one player and staying on them.
The Lakers still do a lot of switching and that neutralizes Vando’s impact. Also, Redick has already indirectly made his thoughts on Vando as a defender clear.
When speaking with Tim Legler of ESPN on the Coaches Corner, Redick said his team didn’t have a lockdown defender.
So, if you’re not utilizing Vando’s defensive ability and his offense is bad, that’s how you end up with a player making $11.5 million and not playing.
Redick also said that Vando could end up back in the rotation and that it’s tough to make changes when the team is winning. I don’t think Lakers fans want an injury or a losing streak to create a scenario where their best defender gets some run, but that might be what happens.
Given how bad the Lakers’ defense has been, perhaps it’s time to give Vando some run right now. With Los Angeles starting a road trip with back-to-back games, maybe the opportunity will present itself and Vando can show what he can contribute to this team.
For now, he appears to remain in good spirits and is staying ready. Here’s hoping Redick sees how Vanderbilt can raise a defensive floor that likes to hang out too much in the basement.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.