We are racing toward the start of the 2026-27 season, but the Los Angeles Lakers still sit here with unchecked boxes on their to-do list.
The move for Walker Kessler was ambitious, and the many free agents signings further demonstrated the Lakers’ intent to build a title-contending roster around superstar point guard Luka Doncic. But for as much movement as the franchise has seen this summer, one could legitimately argue that the roster should be set in virtually every meaningful way.
Instead, the Lakers still don’t have someone they can point to as a Day 1 starter at power forward, and if Kessler happens to miss time next season, then oh well.
L.A. should, at the very least, have long had an answer at power forward when considering what the team brought in Jarred Vanderbilt for a few years ago. But, believe it or not, Vanderbilt’s situation in Los Angeles seems as dicey as any player toward the bottom of the Lakers roster.
Lakers Still Pushing to Part Ways With Forward
Vanderbilt, 27, can be a highly-impactful defender when healthy. Although he bounced back in the health department last season, Vanderbilt has been largely unreliable in recent seasons. That, perhaps, has some to do with why the Lakers have been looking to trade Vanderbilt.
“They’ve been trying (to make a trade),” Heavy NBA insider Sean Deveney reported. “In fact, with 16 guys on the roster, they’re still trying. They’d most like Jarred Vanderbilt to go, as he has two years and $26 million on his contract. They’re likely to play Vanderbilt this season, rehab his value and see if they can deal him off later. But only having three second-round picks (none until 2031) and one pick swap (in 2032) to trade hurts their chances at persuading another team to make a deal.”
Deveney spoke to a Western Conference executive, who revealed the Lakers have made attempts to move Vanderbilt.
“It’s tricky for them because they’re up against it, they don’t really have anything that can get another team to take on bad money,” the executive said of the Lakers. “They tried all summer, and they will keep trying. But you can’t get something for nothing.”
Vanderbilt’s Contract Makes Him a Tough Sell
If Vanderbilt can stay in the lineup, there is reason to believe that he can help deliver what the Lakers are looking for at power forward. But with the team trying to deal him, it seems they have decided Vanderbilt isn’t the answer.
The 27-year-old is still owed roughly $26 million over the next two seasons, which is no insignificant amount for a player who has appeared in just 130 games since the start of the 2023-24 season.
That noted, if the Lakers are unable to hammer out a deal for Vanderbilt this offseason, the veteran swingman will get an opportunity to get back on track and either find his place in the rotation or boost his trade value enough ahead of the trade deadline to make it easier for the Lakers to move him.
Report: Lakers Have ‘Tried All Summer’ to Trade Struggling $26 Million Forward