The Los Angeles Lakers have reportedly been trying to trade Jarred Vanderbilt for years, but with no success. The forward remains on the roster heading into the 2026-27 NBA season, but that’s not guarantee he plays or gets back to becoming a significant rotational player under head coach JJ Redick.
Over the past few years with the Lakers, Vanderbilt’s minutes and production have dropped. He’s been consistently mentioned in trade rumors, and according to a new report, the 27-year-old does not have a bright future in Los Angeles.
Even with the Lakers’ injuries through preseason, Vanderbilt still hasn’t played much. He remains the team’s top trade candidate, but even if he’s not moved, the wing with two years left on his contract isn’t expected to get many minutes during the regular season.
Jarred Vanderbilt ‘Clearly On The Outs’ With JJ Redick
Lakers reporter Jovan Buha recently painted a dark picture as it relates to Vanderbilt’s standing with head coach JJ Redick and his place in the team’s rotation.
“Vando just clearly is on the outs with JJ,” he said on Buha’s Block. “Regardless of what we think of Vando or how we view his contract, JJ clearly does not view him as a rotation player and does not plan on using him as a rotation player.”
Vanderbilt played just five minutes in the Lakers’ preseason loss to the Golden State Warriors. If his previous playing time and stats weren’t enough to prove he still sits outside the rotation, as Buha said after the game, it’s now clear how Redick views the veteran forward.
“He basically is a minimum player in JJ’s eyes, based on how JJ uses him,” he added. “He is the 13th guy for JJ, but he’s getting paid as the fifth-highest-paid player on the team, if I’m not mistaken? He’s the fifth- or sixth-highest-paid player, and in his coach’s eyes, he’s the 13th guy.”
Last season, Vanderbilt played just 17.4 minutes per game and averaged 4.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 47.1% shooting in 65 games. Despite being one of the highest-paid players on the roster, if he’s even on the team for the full year, it’s fair to say those numbers will continue to drop.
Lakers Have Tried To Trade The Disappointing Forward
Ever since signing Vanderbilt to a four-year, $48 million contract extension a few years ago, it just hasn’t worked out for him with the Lakers.
The team has reportedly tried to trade him in the past, and while there are interesting packages including him, Dalton Knecht, and Jaden Hardy to get back a starting power forward or backup center, his low value around the league has kept him in Los Angeles.
“The Lakers have been trying to trade both of these players going back really almost two seasons,” Buha recently said about Vanderbilt and Knecht, all but confirming the trade rumors. “They’ve been shopping these guys for a while, well over a year. They were shopping them last deadline. They’ve been shopping them this offseason. They’ve not been able to offload them.”
However, despite Los Angeles’ hopes of moving Vanderbilt, there’s no market for him around the league, at least for a player the Lakers would want back.
As Svyatoslav Rovenchuk wrote for LakeShowLife.com, it looks like the wing will be staying on the roster as the team has continuously failed to find a Vanderbilt trade that works for them.
“Vanderbilt coming in at around $12.4 million right after that is the unfortunate set of circumstances that everyone rightfully views it as. That is a deal no franchises are jumping to take off the Lakers’ hands,” he wrote. “Rob Pelinka has tried. There were murmurings throughout the offseason of attempting to package Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht in an outgoing trade to bring back someone who could contribute for the Lakers. Unsurprisingly, nothing came of it.”
Even though Vanderbilt had shown signs of being a solid player in the past, it just hasn’t worked out in Los Angeles. As time goes on, his standing in the Lakers’ rotation only gets worse, as there’s a real chance he spends most of his time this season on the bench.
“When people continue to throw out Jared Vanderbilt starter, Jared Vanderbilt prominent role, I’ve pushed back that JJ just does not view Jared in that light,” Buha previously said. “There’s just a gap between how I think a lot of the fan base views Vando and how JJ views him.”
Vanderbilt is owed more than $12 million this season and has a player option for more than $13 million next year, which only makes it more difficult for the Lakers to find a trade.
Lakers Firmly Put $25M Wing On Trade Block, ‘Clearly On The Outs’ With JJ Redick