Robert Marvi, Lakers Wire Fri, October 30, 2026 at 12:04 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For a while now, forward Jarred Vanderbilt has been an odd man out for the Los Angeles Lakers as far as their regular rotation. He had initially been a key member of that rotation when he arrived in a trade in February 2023, but his playing time started to diminish not too long afterward due to his extremely limited offensive skills.
Vanderbilt may be an offensive liability, but he has always been a capable and versatile defender, as well as someone who helps on the boards and plays with energy. With Luka Doncic and Ziaire Williams out of action on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers , Vanderbilt got 21 minutes of playing time and grabbed seven rebounds while ranking second in plus/minus with a plus-22.
Defensively, he spent time guarding Clippers center Brook Lopez, who got off to a strong start this season but had just two points on 1-of-5 shooting on Wednesday. Vanderbilt thus played a role in the Lakers' 103-87 victory , and afterward, coach JJ Redick hinted that he may have found a way to play Vanderbilt in an effective manner.
"He did a great job," Redick said of Vanderbilt. "We showed a clip a halftime of fronting him in the post and not allowing him to get the basketball. Vando is always gonna play hard, he's always gonna impact the game with just his effort. I thought he did that tonight. The pairing with Mamu (Sandro Mamukleashvili) is probably the best pairing in terms of having another big out there that can space and shoot and play-make."
How to manage the minutes when starting center Walker Kessler is resting is one issue the Lakers have right now. Mamukelashvili has played almost half of his minutes at the 5 spot, and Vanderbilt, at 6-foot-8, is best off playing power forward. Some have even suggested that Vanderbilt be used to guard opposing centers for short stints when Kessler is on the bench.
Vanderbilt has shown his versatility on the defensive end over the last few years, but he probably cannot be relied upon to handle defensive matchups against certain centers. Still, perhaps he could still see spot duty moving forward, especially when the Lakers are dealing with injuries to frontcourt players.
Williams is listed as questionable for Friday's game against the Golden State Warriors. If he's out again, perhaps Vanderbilt will get onto the floor once again.
This article originally appeared on Lakers Wire: JJ Redick hinted at how he could use forward Jarred Vanderbilt
Source: Sports
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