Lakers Sending Clear Message to NBA with New Jarred Vanderbilt Extension
Rob Pelinka has been on a mission the entire 2023 offseason to keep the main core of last year's Lakers squad together while finding loopholes to fix their weaknesses. LA had an immaculate second half to their season and for a second there, it did seem like they could've been the team to take down the eventual champion Denver Nuggets.
Unfortunately, the Lakers were not perfect. Malik Beasley, Troy Brown Jr and Mo Bamba all fell out of the rotation and LeBron James showed some signs of aging as the playoffs went on.
Nonetheless, LA has improved all-around these past few months and with the recent signing of Christian Wood, fans thought their front office could finally get some rest. But one last move went down yesterday and that was a four-year, $48 million extension given to young wing Jarred Vanderbilt. Visual learners can check out this video in which experts from All Lakers.com go in-depth on his contract news.
Price May Be A Bit High & That's Okay!
Vanderbilt is still just 24-years-old and LA now has him under contract during the most important years of his career. Between the ages of 24 and 27 is usually when most NBA players solidify their place in the league (benchwarmers, role players, fringe stars, superstars, etc.).
LA completely transformed their roster at the 2023 trade deadline and got much, much younger. They were on the outside looking in in terms of the playoff race and by bringing in Vanderbilt along with D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura, new life came to the franchise.
Columnist Ricardo Sandoval illustrated how Vanderbilt earned his minutes immediately thanks to uplifting head coach Darvin Ham's defense-heavy system.
"Defense is the key, with Darwin Ham you have to play defense," said Sandoval. "It is bit of an overpay but sometimes you have to do that for someone with his value and potential. Overall, I believe he will play a key role on this team whether he is starting or coming off the bench."
(Via Lakers 248)
Banking On The 3-Point Shot
It does look like LA's front office is turning over a new leaf and putting more trust in their younger guys. Rui Hachimura had a very impressive postseason and they were quick to pay him due to that... his regular season consistency is still something everybody will be watching but he seems poised to hold himself to those same standards.
The same goes for Vanderbilt and his role on the 2023-2024 Los Angeles Lakers will ultimately come down to whether or not he becomes a threat from beyond the arc. I touched on his improvement from deep in the Lakers248 video and it seems like his strides deserve more respect from the past few years.
"With the Timberwolves in the 2020 season, he shot 20 percent from three in 64 games. The next season in 2021, it got a whole lot worse as he shot 14 percent from three. But then once he went to the Utah Jazz last season, he shot 33 percent in 52 games and then in 26 games with the Lakers, he was able to shoot 30 percent."
(Via Lakers 248)
Columnist Alex Kirschenbaum thinks it could be risky to commit this money to him due to his history of three-point struggles but holds hope for him nonetheless.
"It's tough to say that a guy who never shot 33 percent in a season is going to be a consistent three-point shooter in the playoffs," said Kirschenbaum. "I do think though that there will be some nights in the regular season where he'll be able to showcase some improvements."
(Via Lakers248)
We are extremely excited to keep Vanderbilt on the team for the next couple of seasons and look forward to seeing what he brings to the floor very soon.
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