[AI 翻译失败] Can Jarred Vanderbilt finally earn a lasting role under JJ Redick?

Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we'll be writing columns every weekday breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we look at Jarred Vanderbilt. It might be hard to believe, but with the massive overhaul of the Lakers roster this offseason, Jarred Vanderbilt is now the second-longest tenured Laker behind only Austin Reaves. After being traded to the Lakers in February 2023, this will be the fifth season in which Vando's rocked the Forum blue and gold, outlasting every other player who was acquired with him in the trade that shipped Russell Westbrook out and catapulted the team on their run to the conference finals later that spring. All these seasons later, though, it's fair to say that Vanderbilt has lost ground in his pursuit of a lasting role commensurate with his salary. After solidifying a spot in Darvin Ham's rotation as a chaos-inducing defensive ace, Vando has never gained a footing under JJ Redick, going stretches of seeing two to three shifts a game and then racking up DNP-CD's after his production (and skill set) on both sides of the ball proved a bit too inconsistent and lacking to not chase an alternative. With a remade roster that still lacks an established starter at the forward spot opposite Luka Dončić, however, Vanderbilt might not be buried yet. Yes, there are alternatives in-house who, at first blush, feel like they'd have the upper hand in the race for a role. But as long as he's on the roster, Vanderbilt should not be counted out. Particularly when roster changes might make Vando a better fit than he was the previous two seasons under Redick. When it comes to how Vanderbilt can best find a role, it feels easiest to point to any sort of improvement offensively — especially as a shooter from behind the arc — as the key to him finally sticking. And while I won't argue against the importance of Vando knocking down shots as being meaningful for his overall utility, I think it's disingenuous to put all the emphasis on an improvement on that side of the ball leading to him playing more. Instead, I turn the focus to Vando's defense and how finding the right role — and the right scheme — can do more for his place in the pecking order than his ability to hit a handful more threes in his minutes. This isn't an exaggeration, either. Last year, Vanderbilt connected on just 29 of his 99 threes on the season, 29.3%. If he'd made just six more of his attempts from deep, his percentage would have gone up to 35.3%. Does anyone believe six more makes would have changed his reputation at all as a shooter or that it would have impacted the way defenses treated him? Yeah, me neither. I'd argue, then, what really impacted Vanderbilt was that he never really found a way to be the impact defender he's billed as. There are many reasons for this, including his penchant for over-aggressiveness at the point of attack, his gambling in passing lanes, and a general lack of off-ball discipline. But, even more than those things, I'd argue that the Lakers' penchant to switch as much as they did and the fact that their big man rotation did not have much shot blocking proved to be a poor fit for Vando's defensive approach and allowed defenses to remove him from the action too easily. This season, with Walker Kessler now in the fold, not only do I imagine that the team will switch less, but I also believe the coaches can move from a more contain defense at the point of attack to a more aggressive approach that encourages ball pressure and disruption. These are the exact sorts of shifts in defensive identity that would suit Vanderbilt's style. And with Vanderbilt having another healthy offseason to further work on his body and his game, I don't think it's out of the question that he could return to the form he showed in his first season and a half in Los Angeles. In getting back to the offense, I don't think there will ever be a point where Vanderbilt's skill level and overall utility as a finisher will clear the bar Redick wants. That said, if Redick does commit to playing him a couple of shifts a game in lineups that can somewhat protect him offensively while catering to what he does best defensively, there's a real possibility Vanderbilt can play as the best version of himself. There's a precedent for this, though the samples are not large at all. Last season, per Cleaning the Glass, Vando played 79 possessions while flanking both Luka and Austin Reaves. In those minutes, the Lakers had a +5.1 net rating. However, 32 of those possessions had Luke Kennard on the floor, which makes sense since his shooting can serve as a counterbalance to Vando's struggles in that area. However, when you remove Kennard from the data, the Lakers net rating jumps to +33.2 in those remaining 47 possessions, with many of the best-performing groups having either Marcus Smart or Jake LaRavia as the other perimeter defender. In other words, pair Vando with another perimeter defender and then put them next to Luka and Austin and those groups showed some viability, albeit in small samples. Vando getting more chances in those sorts of lineups next season feels like something to at least try out in order to see if they can find something more lasting. If the above feels too optimistic, I don't blame you. There's a reason Vanderbilt has consistently fallen out of the rotation for Redick and to act as though those same circumstances won't reappear simply because the roster has changed to the degree it has is could simply be wish-casting. After all, Redick is still the coach and while there's a likelihood the schemes on both sides of the ball will shift some to account for the new players and what they do best, until we see new playbooks on both sides of the ball (or least the sorts of shifts that cater more to him), I envision Vanderbilt running into some of the same challenges he's experienced. Namely, that even if they don't switch all screens one through five, they still switch enough screens that don't involve the center for offenses to manipulate matchups and get Vanderbilt off their biggest offensive threats, neutralizing him in the process. And then, on the other side of the ball, his overall lack of finishing and poor outside shooting prove too frustrating for Redick to invest in with a real role. Ultimately, then, the team goes in a different direction, investing minutes into Zaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle, and even Adou Thiero instead of Vando. And while he might get spot minutes here or there, Vando mostly becomes a fixture on the bench whose salary makes it unlikely he even gets traded this season because of the remaining season still on his contract. If having to choose between the two scenarios above, I have to admit the latter feels much more likely than the former. We simply have too much history with Vanderbilt under Redick to forecast that he's suddenly going to shift into a more prominent role. That said, I truly do believe that the circumstances of this team are the most conducive they have been for Vanderbilt to have a successful season with Redick as head coach. And while it feels like a stretch for Vanderbilt to be a starter or to be a guy relied on to play three to four shifts a game, I do think that in the sorts of lineups where he can play to his strengths defensively while also having enough offensive talent around him where he can be a connecting player more than a finisher, he can play 10 to 12 minutes a night and be a positive player. And while I'm not going to advocate that he jump to the front of the line or that he should be prioritized over other players at that spot, I do hope he's able to compete with the other wings and forwards on this roster to show that he's capable of helping this team. Because if he does get that chance, I do think he'll show he can do something with it. You can follow Darius on BlueSky at @forumbluegold and find more of his Lakers coverage on the Laker Film Room Podcast.