The Los Angeles Lakers made another summertime move on Friday that helped solidify their near-term future when they reportedly gave forward Jarred Vanderbilt a four-year, $48 million contract extension.
The 24-year-old will thus be under contract with them until the 2027-28 season, which aligns with the extension they gave Anthony Davis several weeks ago.
Buy Lakers TicketsVanderbilt’s arrival in February was a significant reason Los Angeles miraculously turned things around and reached the Western Conference Finals. However, during the run to the West Finals, he saw his playing time dwindle due to some of his flaws.
Is it possible the Lakers should’ve waited a bit to give him this extension? Or was this the right move at the right time?
The case against an extension
While Vanderbilt has proven to be a very capable defender, he appeared to be something of an offensive liability, especially during the playoffs. In 26 regular season games with the Lakers this past season, he shot just 30.3% from 3-point range, and in the playoffs, that figure fell to 24.1%.
Opponents started leaving him wide open in the corners and all but throwing $100 bills at him to coax him into shooting treys. Once in a while, he would make teams pay for doing so, but it was usually a productive strategy for whoever was playing L.A.
If Vanderbilt doesn’t develop a passable 3-point shot, he could conceivably find himself supplanted by Taurean Prince, whom the Lakers signed as a free agent in early July, in head coach Darvin Ham’s rotation.
The University of Kentucky product has also had issues catching passes in the paint and finishing. Improving in that department would make him a nice option off the dive, especially when LeBron James has the ball either on the wing or in the post.
The case for an extension
A four-year extension at $48 million, which averages out to $12 million per annum, isn’t that much money when one thinks about it. The market in the NBA has jumped considerably over the last few years, and $12 million a year is now only a little more than what so-called “replacement-level” players may command.
Vanderbilt is young, so if his work ethic and desire are there, he could very well make himself into a solid outside shooter. He may not ever become the second-coming of Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman on the other end, but his defense, and especially his rebounding, can only get better with time and experience.
It looks like the Lakers have been doing a soft rebuild on the fly while making themselves into championship contenders again. Vanderbilt is a part of that youth movement, and this extension gives them clarity and certainty for the next few years.
Worst case scenario, if Vanderbilt doesn’t improve or even regresses a bit, his extension should be a fairly team-friendly one, especially once the NBA’s next broadcast deal kicks in for the 2025-26 season. It is expected to include a lot more money than its current deal, which could push player salaries even higher into the ionosphere.
