As far as potential targets for the Los Angeles Lakers go, Klay Thompson would have been a flawed option. His days as a stout defender are gone. His overall offense has declined, too. The main appeal was his maintained effectiveness with the 3-point shot. Even so, there was reason for the Lakers to look in his direction.
Before his buyout from the Dallas Mavericks, it was reported by Marc Stein that Masai Ujiri and the front office preferred to trade Thompson. Christian Clark of The Athletic also highlighted that Klay would welcome a return to Los Angeles, a place where he spent time as a child and owned a home.
For the Lakers, this could have been an opportunity to swap out one bad contract for another. Jarred Vanderbilt's deal lined up pretty comfortably with Thompson's from a financial standpoint. A lateral move? In some ways, perhaps. However, Klay would have arrived as an expiring contract. Los Angeles would have cleared up an extra year of a bad salary figure with the acquisition.
Maybe the Lakers think they can offload Vanderbilt's money in a Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade. The lack of finalized developments argue against that eventually being the resolution. Los Angeles may need to factor Vando into their plans for the upcoming season.
Jarred Vanderbilt staying in Los Angeles is growing more likely by the day
Roughly $25.7 million over two years may not seen like a ton of money by NBA standards. In the grand schemes of things, it is not.
When that money is owed to a role player who struggles to get on the floor with regularity, it is a different story. Vanderbilt has enjoyed some encouraging stretches in recent years, but on the whole, the Lakers featuring him off the bench has had more to do with their weak depth than anything else.
That depth got a solid boost this summer. It makes Vanderbilt's contract stick out even more among the second unit. In 2026-27, Vando is slated to be the sixth most expensive player on the Lakers roster without being particularly close to being the sixth best. That is a rough financial mismatch.
It is also one that has no immediate exit strategy in sight.
The Atlanta Hawks were said to not be interested in taking on his money in a potential Kuminga sign-and-trade. Why would they be when there are alternate paths to getting that deal done?
Beyond that, the Lakers could explore the idea of a waive-and-stretch, but that has downside for the franchise as well. Free agency will be an important way for Los Angeles to add players moving forward, given their lack of draft capital. Stretching out Vanderbilt's money over the long haul lends itself poorly to maximizing that strategy.
Without finding another bad contract, like the one Thompson was on, to shorten the length of Vando's financial hit, the Lakers could be stuck. Vanderbilt might be secure in his position on the roster for yet another season as a result.
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