Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt enjoyed the first healthy offseason he’s had in years, setting him up to be an important part of head coach JJ Redick’s rotation for the 2025-26 season.
Redick expressed his confidence in Vanderbilt, saying he could be an impactful two-way player for the Lakers.
While Vanderbilt has flashed his usual energy and hustle this season, he’s fallen out of the rotation since LeBron James returned to the lineup.
Redick detailed why Vanderbilt’s been benched and how he’s been able to handle it.
“He’s been good. He’s been a pro, he’s been great in the most recent stay-ready that we had this week. He was great. He’s been a great teammate, so no surprise there,” Redick said before Monday’s game against the Phoenix Suns. “I communicated to him before LeBron came back that there were certain things that he needed to be able to do consistently to play before LeBron came back, after LeBron came back, and that there was potentially gonna be a numbers crunch because we probably were gonna play a nine-man rotation and that was just the reality.
“Having said that, it doesn’t mean that he’s not gonna be back in the rotation at some point, whether we’re healthy or whether we’re missing a couple guys. When you’re winning games, it’s hard to re-do the rotation mid-winning streak. So we’re looking at everything and there were some lineup combinations when we were injured that we had to go away from and he was I guess caught up as a sort of innocent bystander in some ways with that. But I certainly have empathy for him and it’s not an easy situation to be in as a coach and certainly not a fun situation for him to be in as a player.”
Vanderbilt’s defense and knack for making winning plays is useful, but he’s been struggling offensively. Teams have been happy to pack the paint and dare Los Angeles to shoot when Vanderbilt’s on the floor, leaving Redick no choice but to use other options.
However, with how many players have already struggled to stay healthy there’s a good shot Vanderbilt cracks the rotation again. Redick and the Lakers will need Vanderbilt at some point, so it’s important he stays ready until his number is called.
Jarred Vanderbilt discusses controllable things Lakers can fix going forward
In the Lakers’ loss, a lot of their struggles have been self-inflicted. Jarred Vanderbilt noted that Los Angeles needs to be better at executing the game plan, sound advice that could be applied to their recent loss to the Suns.
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