Lakers’ Vanderbilt eyes return in early January

Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt has recently experienced fluid in his left knee during his rehabilitation from offseason procedures to both feet and is targeting early January for his return, the Lakers told ESPN on Tuesday.

Vanderbilt, 25, suffered a right midfoot sprain on Feb. 1, causing him to miss the rest of the season. That came after Vanderbilt missed the first 20 games of last season because of bursitis in his left heel.

On Nov. 20, the Lakers announced that Vanderbilt’s ramp-up after surgery on his right foot and removing a bone spur in his left foot in May has taken longer than the team anticipated. However, the Lakers claimed at the time that Vanderbilt had not suffered a setback during the return-to-play process and he would be reevaluated in a couple of weeks.

The six-year veteran is not on the Lakers’ current four-game road trip which concludes with games in Miami on Wednesday and Atlanta on Friday and is expected to be examined by team doctors after the trip.

Vanderbilt was playing some of the best basketball of his career last season before hurting his right foot — averaging 10.5 points on 66% shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals in his past eight games from mid-January until getting injured in Los Angeles’ 114-105 win over the Celtics on Feb. 1.

His impact on the team has been sporadic though, after being traded to the Lakers as part of a three-team deal two seasons ago.

Since signing a four-year, $48 million contract extension in September 2023 coming off the Lakers’ run to the Western Conference finals, Vanderbilt has appeared in just 29 out of 104 games, including the regular season, in-season tournament, play-in tournament and playoffs.

Los Angeles has gone 12-9 without Vanderbilt to start this season, struggling with the 24th defensive rating in the league, allowing 116.7 points per 100 possessions.

The Lakers have lost five of their past seven games, including a dispirited 109-80 defeat against the Timberwolves on Monday.

Beyond bolstering the defense by being called on to guard opponents’ top perimeter players, Vanderbilt’s absence has prevented new coach JJ Redick from figuring out his ideal rotation. His absence has also prevented the Lakers’ front office from fully evaluating the needs of its roster as trade season approaches.