The more the Los Angeles Lakers brought in new faces this offseason via free agency, the more it reminded everyone of how badly Jarred Vanderbilt's contract has aged for the franchise. There was optimism that perhaps Rob Pelinka could find an exit route, but it never materialized.
Among the opportunities to get rid of Vanderbilt's remaining $25.7 million from the cap books, there are two that stand out as notable in particular. One of them was the Walker Kessler sign-and-trade. The other was the failed pursuit of Jonathan Kuminga.
In both of those cases, the Lakers lacked the true leverage needed to attach Vanderbilt's money and find him a new home. How things played out was unfortunate for Los Angeles. However, it is more than understandable.
Jazz had the upper hand over the Lakers in the Walker Kessler saga
The Lakers gave the Utah Jazz two unprotected first-round picks and two picks swaps for the opportunity to sign Kessler. This is where some have felt the Lakers missed their best shot to move off Vanderbilt.
Sam Quinn of the Third Apron Podcast argued it was a 'massive failure.' Giving up the draft haul they did should have allowed the Lakers to dump Vanderbilt in the process, according to Quinn.
That analysis misses the mark. The Jazz had plenty of incentive to keep Kessler in Utah. The Lakers already gave up a pretty penny to pay their new center. If they went the offer sheet route with Walker instead, they would have been forced to surrender even more financial flexibility with the hopes of pricing their competitors out of the bidding.
Even then, there was no guarantee that Utah would not have simply matched the offer sheet. Plus, the Lakers would have been stuck playing the waiting game with the rest of their free agent targets.
This was a delicate situation and forcing Vanderbilt into the mix here could have upset the workability of how it all went down. This was far from the misstep Quinn tried to paint it as. The leverage was not in the Lakers' favor.
Hawks did not want Jarred Vanderbilt in the Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade
The Lakers did what they had to with Kessler. That required unloading the draft capital that they did. Such a necessary maneuver left them underequipped to bring in Kuminga via sign-and-trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
There was no interest from the Hawks in absorbing Vando's money to help get the former free agent forward to Los Angeles on a healthy payday. The Lakers lacked the draft capital to change their mind, or any other team that could emerge as a potential suitor. They were stuck.
Once again, it became a matter of the Lakers lacking leverage.
With Kessler, it was the steep price of doing business on a restricted free agent. With Kuminga, they did not have enough leftover to offload the cap dump they needed in Vanderbilt.
One could argue the second instance was more self-inflicted, and that much would be fair. However, it also undersells just how much impact Kessler could have on the Lakers next season. You take shelling out for Walker rather than the alternative of keeping those picks and overpaying Mitchell Robinson any day. If all that results in Vando staying put, so be it.
The failure to move on from Vanderbilt will be a touch disappointing for Lakers fans. Given the nuanced lack of leverage in both scenarios where Los Angeles might have done it, it is a justifiable failure.
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