Lakers News: How Insider Feels About Jarred Vanderbilt’s Extension

LA recently re-signed its (maybe?) starting power forward.

Your Los Angeles Lakers recently re-signed the man they started at the power forward position for most of the regular season and playoffs upon acquiring him, 6'9" big man Jarred Vanderbilt, to the tune of a four-year, $48 million contract extension.

During a new episode of Zach Lowe's ESPN podcast The Lowe Post, his colleague at the worldwide leader, Ramona Shelburne, weighed in with her thoughts on the lucrative new contract, which will keep the 24-year-old out of Kentucky under team control through the 2027-28 season.

"I think it's yet another really nice, team-friendly deal that'll be good for the player, good for the team, because he was a solid contributor for them last year and I think he'll be a rotational player this year," Shelburne said. "I don't know if he starts or if it depends on the matchup. But that's a really nice, team-friendly deal."

"And those are the kind of contracts, Zach, that I think in the new CBA won't really exist," Shelburne added. "Those middle contracts. You're going to have two maxes, and everybody else will be on vet minimums and midlevels. And so if you get somebody who's good in at that level, it's good for them, and it's good for the team, because they're going to be the hardest ones to create when you already have two max guys in the new CBA."

The sixth-year southpaw averaged 7.2 points on 52.9% shooting, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals across his 26 contests for the club (24 starts) after being traded to LA from the Utah Jazz around the trade deadline.

That offensive output took a nosedive during the playoffs, when Vanderbilt averaged 4.6 points on 40% shooting, 3.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 blocks and 0.7 steals per 16.5 minutes. He was still a versatile asset defensively, and frequently saw himself matched up against opposing playoff teams' lead ball handlers for extended stretches. However, Vanderbilt's total lack of shooting ability and his struggles to contain bigger forwards and centers ultimately made him a solvable mark for LA's West rivals in seven-game series.

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