The Los Angeles Lakers have invested heavily in perimeter defense. Max Christie inked a four-year, $32 million contract in July, while Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent signed contracts worth a combined $81 million in 2023.
Unfortunately, due to injuries and general indifference among the offensively inclined players, the Lakers have been unable to secure the quality they need thus far.
Los Angeles is 14-12, which paints the picture of a team that's trending in the right direction. Unfortunately, the Lakers rank No. 24 in the NBA in both defensive rating and opponent field goal percentage—accurate representations of their woes on defense.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, first-year head coach JJ Redick believes the resolution is to start a strong point-of-attack defender alongside Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves.
JJ Redick said he’s looking for a complementary player as the fifth starter next to Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves moving forward.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) December 16, 2024
Redick said that that player ideally is a good POA defender who doesn’t need the ball and can make 3s. He didn’t name…
Considering the current players have been unable to establish themselves as reliable perimeter defenders and injuries have called the team's depth into question, Redick's preferred player may need to be acquired via trade.
JJ Redick wants the wing defender the Lakers simply don't have
It doesn't take much of a leap to come to the conclusion that Redick is at least loosely describing Vanderbilt as his ideal fifth starter. Vanderbilt is the best perimeter defender on the roster and has established himself as a player who can be trusted to go all-out regardless of his offensive touches.
Unfortunately, Vanderbilt has appeared in just 29 of the Lakers' past 108 games and it remains unclear when he'll be able to debut in 2024-25.
Perhaps Vanderbilt's closer to a return than the public is aware of, with Redick being the most likely individual to know that potentially undisclosed information. The unfortunate reality, however, is that there's no telling which version of Vanderbilt the Lakers will get.
Vanderbilt hasn't appeared in an NBA game since Feb. 1 and will likely need time to adjust to both Redick's system and the pace of the Association after missing nearly a calendar year.
With this in mind, one can't help but note that the Lakers are now eligible to trade for just about any player in the NBA. There are obvious restrictions based on who rival executives are actually willing to part with, but the window of opportunity has opened.
It stands to reason that trading for the center the Lakers have long been in need of would help address crucial areas of weakness, but consistent perimeter defense would remain elusive in that scenario.
It's the most brutal aspect of Los Angeles' current ambitions. No matter which way the Lakers look, there's a flaw that can be fairly described as unlikely to be addressed from within—making the need for a trade bigger than any one position or player.
If the Lakers are going to right the ship and turn an above-.500 start to the season into something meaningful in the long-term, then what Redick is looking for may need to come from an external source.