Thought Starter...
The news on Jarred Vanderbilt keeps getting worse.
The Lakers revealed Tuesday (via Shams and Dave McMenamin at ESPN) that Vanderbilt, who is yet to play this season, has suffered a setback in his rehab. Not with the surgically repaired feet that have kept him out to this point, but because of fluid buildup on his left knee. So they’ll have to slow down his activity, and he’s now targeting early January for a return.
Sure, why not, but the Lakers shouldn’t treat this target as any more definitive than the other targets he/they have had to this point.
Really, they should behave it as if Vanderbilt isn’t going to play this season. If he does, great. Realistically, though, they should be forming plans as if he won’t. Because even if Vanderbilt does come back, he won’t have played for over a year. Huge chunks of two seasons. The idea Vando could come back and be the best version of himself is unrealistic. And since he’s a guy who is most successful relying on activity and athleticism, that’s even more reason to assume he’ll need time to feel comfortable and round into form. It’s certainly not fair for anyone to expect him to just waltz into the lineup and defend at a high level.
If there’s a part of the Shams/McMenamin report that should feel particularly annoying, it’s this: “Beyond bolstering the defense by being called on to guard opponents’ top perimeter players, Vanderbilt’s absence has prevented new coach JJ Redick from figuring out his ideal rotation. His absence has also prevented the Lakers’ front office from fully evaluating the needs of its roster as trade season approaches.”
Really?
Seems that “fully” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Yes, in the most literal terms his absence has prevented the front office from fully evaluating the needs of its roster as trade season approaches. But it’s pretty clear where the team’s weaknesses are. It’s pretty clear who identify the names that feel available right now, and maybe who will become available as the season goes on. That’s not to say Rob Pelinka could go out and make a couple big trades. The Lakers are definitely hamstrung by a variety of circumstances, only some of their own making. But the notion that 20+ games in, Pelinka doesn’t have a good idea of what his team needs? Or could really use?
Even if the path forward isn’t laid out meticulously, in bright swaths of total obviousness, the needs (wing defense, backup big, potentially another ball handler, pending D’Angelo Russell’s future in the market). None of that really changes even if Vanderbilt comes back, eventually. Which ultimately makes it feel like Pelinka is setting the stage again to do nothing at the deadline or whenever.
—BK
Overheard On This Episode...
“This is not a re-evaluation in early January, it’s an actual targeting date. So by the standards of how this stuff has been typically relayed, that’s optimistic.”
“This defense switches way too damn much. Like as an automatic scheme, they switch way too often, way too easily.”
“This team is personnel wise worse defensively than last year because the meaningful change that you’ve made in the rotation is swapping out Taurean Prince for Dalton Knecht.”
“It’s hard for me to picture them getting four or five stops in a row. I can picture four or five baskets in a row, but not four or five stops.”
