Jarred Vanderbilt saga has backed Lakers into an inescapable corner

Roughly 15 months ago, the Los Angeles Lakers made Jarred Vanderbilt a franchise cornerstone by signing him to a four-year, $48 million contract extension. It was a bold declaration that the franchise viewed his profound defensive ability as integral to the team's future success.

Unfortunately, 15 months later, Vanderbilt has appeared in just 29 of the Lakers' past 103 games—and the highly-anticipated date of his return from foot surgery has been delayed.

Vanderbilt appeared in just 29 games in 2023-24 and underwent double foot surgery during the 2024 offseason to prevent future issues. Unfortunately, the Lakers' defensive ace has missed all 21 games in 2024-25 and a return date is more of a question mark than ever before.

According to Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Vanderbilt recently discovered a buildup of fluid in his left knee and will now delay his season debut until early January.

"Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has recently experienced fluid in his left knee during his rehabilitation from offseason procedures to both feet and is targeting early January for his return, the Lakers told ESPN on Tuesday."

Some might argue that the Lakers can afford to wait a month for Vanderbilt to return to the lineup, but there's a rational line of thinking behind the concern that a trade will prove necessary.

Jarred Vanderbilt out until January as Lakers' injury woes continue

The hope coming into the 2024 preseason was that Vanderbilt would be ready around the start of the regular season. Unfortunately, that process has been delayed, thus leaving the Lakers without their best perimeter defender.

The result has been an atrocious display of team defense, as not even All-Defense mainstay Anthony Davis has been able to save the team from ranking No. 24 in defensive rating.

It's only November, but the Lakers have already completed the first quarter of the 2024-25 regular season. A 12-9 record inspires some degree of faith and optimism, but there are valid concerns about the team's ability to sustain their success.

With this in mind, a harsh reality has presented itself to Rob Pelinka and the Lakers' front office: It might be time to explore other options as far as defensive specialists are concerned.

Even if Vanderbilt is cleared to return for the Lakers' first game in January, they'll have played nine more games before then. The worst-case scenario is a 12-18 record that wouldn't be impossible to recover from, but the hole being dug is growing deeper by the day—including negative tendencies on defense.

Even if the Lakers play well during that time, the fact remains that Redick will need to make a drastic change to the rotation in January—rather late in the game for someone's minutes to be cut for the sole purpose of clearing playing time for a player who hasn't debuted yet.

It must also be acknowledged that Vanderbilt returning from injury doesn't necessarily mean he won't get hurt again. Considering 2024-25 is the first season of his four-year, $48 million contract, that makes his injury history a necessary topic of discussion., including the potential for a trade.

It's fair to assume that nothing will happen until at least December 15, when players who signed contracts during the 2024 period of free agency become eligible to be traded, but there are more question marks than ever before surrounding Vanderbilt.

Weeks before the new year, the Lakers have already been backed into a corner. It's dangerously close to the time at which they'll need to come out swinging.