After appearing in just 29 games last season, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt continues to be plagued by injuries. According to Lakers insider Mike Bresnahan, Vanderbilt has yet to heal from the foot injury that caused him to miss most of last season and is unlikely to be ready for training camp ahead of the 2024-2025 campaign.
"I'm not sure he'll be ready for training camp or even for the preseason games," Bresnahan told Spectrum Sportsnet. "It's a foot injury. 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."
Vanderbilt was one of the starting forwards on the Lakers squad that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2023. During that postseason run, the lanky forward was used as the primary defender on the opponents' best scorers — a role typically entrusted upon elite defenders. Entering the 2023-2024 season, many felt Vanderbilt was primed to become an All-Defensive player. His absence was felt dearly as the Lakers finished 17th in defensive rating, a year after finishing as one of the best defensive units in the NBA.
The Lakers tried to fill Vanderbilt's void with wings such as Cam Reddish, Rui Hachimura and Taurean Prince, but simply couldn't recapture the defensive versatility from a year ago. If Vanderbilt is unable to start the 2024-2025 season, the Purple and Gold could once again run into similar issues.
While the Lakers don't start training camp until Oct. 1, many of the team's players have been spotted at their training facility in recent weeks. Furthermore, new head coach JJ Redick and his staff are seemingly in in-season mode, holding scrimmages for some players and figuring out their best rotations.
The Lakers kick off the preseason with a game against the Timberwolves on Oct. 4. They begin their regular-season campaign against the same team on Oct. 22.
