Jarred Vanderbilt signs four-year extension with Lakers
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP
The Lakers' great offseason continues as they have locked up Jarred Vanderbilt on a four-year $48 million extension.
REPORT: Jared Vanderbilt has signed a 4 year/$48M extension with the Lakers.
— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) September 15, 2023
VANDO IS HERE TO STAY 🔒 pic.twitter.com/yrySBvHMhR
LA acquired the 24-year-old forward at the trade deadline last season, and he played a pivotal role in their stretch run. Vanderbilt is an elite defender with the versatility to guard any position on the court.
Darvin Ham is a defensive coach, and he had Vanderbilt cover a variety of different positions. Vanderbilt limited Stephen Curry in a few games of the Lakers matchup against the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs.
Last season, Vanderbilt averaged 8/8/2 with 1.2 steals per game while shooting 54.8% from the field and 32.2% from three.
In honor of Lakers retaining Jarred Vanderbilt, here’s him clamping up 🔒#VandosVault pic.twitter.com/RaJwPgU2dd
— Coach James 🇭🇹 (@JamesEdrick3) June 28, 2023
His rebounding is an underrated part of his game, as he puts great effort into crashing the glass. According to Lakers skills coach Phil Handy, Vanderbilt has grown two inches this offseason, putting him at 6’10''.
Keeping a young elite defender going forward was a great move by Rob Pelinka and the front office. Vanderbilt has been in the gym working on his offensive game this offseason. If he can develop a solid offensive game, he will become an even better role player for LA.
He is already a lob threat and rim-runner but needs to improve his three-point shooting to be a more complete offensive player.
With his extension, Vanderbilt will be a part of the Lakers' young core for the foreseeable future. Seeing him keep developing and improving as a Laker will be exciting for fans. He should play a pivotal role as LA competes for a title this season.