The unspoken bonus of the Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt extension

Jarred Vanderbilt seemed like he was a throw-in filler piece of the Russell Westbrook trade that the Los Angeles Lakers pulled off at the trade deadline. Vando was coming to his third team in two seasons and it was that third team that really embraced his game.

Vanderbilt quickly became a fan favorite for the Lakers because of his high motor and defensive tenacity. The former second-round pick plays the game the right way and that is something Lakers fans have always appreciated.

Picking up Vanderbilt’s player option for the 2023-24 season was a no-brainer but Los Angeles was not done there. NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Friday that Vanderbilt and the Lake Show agreed to terms on a four-year contract extension worth $48 million. The deal is fully guaranteed and includes a player option in year four.

Even though Vanderbilt struggled in the Western Conference Finals, keeping him in LA and not allowing him to hit the free-agent market was also a no-brainer. Vanderbilt has the kind of skill set that a playoff team should want out of a role player and Los Angeles is rewarding him for that.

While fans certainly hope that Vando ends up spending the entire length of his contract in Los Angeles, there is also an unspoken benefit of extending him to this kind of contract that the team is not going to come out and outwardly advertise.

Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt extension makes a future move easier for the team

This is by no means to say that the purple and gold should be shopping Vanderbilt anytime soon. Vanderbilt plays a very important role for the defensive identity of the team and at this point in time, the Lakers are not going to be able to really upgrade him.

However, these contracts are signed with the long-term vision in mind and the number that the team chose to sign Vanderbilt at is not a coincidence. Yes, it is what the team perceives to be fair market value, but it also falls perfectly into that tradeable contract range.

Every time there is a big trade in the NBA fans will see several of these mid-priced contracts lumped together with draft capital to make it happen. That is the easiest way to get a trade package up to the price of a superstar and having Vanderbilt at $12 million a year makes that a lot easier.

Los Angeles can’t trade him for six months as part of the new extension, so he won’t be part of anything during the 2023-24 season. However, as we all know, the NBA constantly changes and there may be some big names on the trade market in the not-so-distant future.

If there is a disgruntled star, say, next summer, the Lakers could theoretically start building a package around Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura. That alone is $31 million in salary and is a great starting point for building out a package.

Again, this does not mean that Los Angeles is suddenly going to be shopping Vando. The team is never going to be outwardly shopping Vando. Instead, general manager Rob Pelinka just made it easier in the future to build a proper trade package because of the value of Vanderbilt’s new deal.

It is a win-win for the purple and gold. The team gets to keep an important role player around and make him happy knowing that there is more wiggle room for a bigger move in the future if needed.

• 22 Players the Lakers gave up on too soon
• 50 Greatest players in Lakers history (Updated 2023)
• Los Angeles Lakers all-time draft bust starting 5
• The 10 Worst trades in Lakers history