Following Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury, the Lakers are allegedly placing a high priority on acquiring a defensive wing in order to partially offset his output.
The Lakers’ most recent back-to-back victories in Boston and New York have been clouded by something, which is a microcosm of the season. The likelihood that Jarred Vanderbilt’s injury from the victory over the Celtics will end his season is growing, which will leave the Lakers with a massive hole to fill.
Vando is a special player who was just beginning to regain his health. His injury is painful on many levels. For starters, Vanderbilt’s season is basically over because of the player’s heel injury, which prevented him from playing for a large portion of the campaign and forced him to play in discomfort even after he returned.
It puts the Lakers in a difficult situation. The fact that Vando’s skill set is unreplicable is both a blessing and a curse. The Lakers struggle to replace the vacuum left by his absence because they were frequently at their best when he was playing.
However, they will need to deal with this circumstance in the final week before the trade deadline. As expected, the squad is searching the league for players to help cover for Vando’s injury, and Jovan Buha of The Athletic claims that this is their main concern right now.
The Lakers clearly need to establish a semblance of consistency with their performance, energy, effort and playing rotations. At the same time, they likely need to make a trade or two. The team is putting a greater emphasis on e a defensive wing by the trade deadline, according to team sources. The issue, of course, is that every team could use another wing. Prospective prices are high.
Some of the names that were previously connected to the Lakers suit this description, even though no names are mentioned here.
If it’s feasible, Bruce Brown might become an even greater target for the Raptors. The Lakers have had their sights set on him throughout the offseason, but there will probably be competition for him. The Lakers have reportedly shown interest in both the Nets’ Dorian Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale, who also make sense.
The problem the Lakers will face—which I’m sure they already know—is that they won’t be able to find a replacement for what Vando accomplished. But if the squad is going to have any real success this season, they are going to need someone to give them a lift going ahead.