Lakers Rumors: 'Some Internal Pessimism' Jarred Vanderbilt Will Return from Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers don't appear to be too confident in Jarred Vanderbilt returning from a foot injury this season.

There "is some internal pessimism regarding Vanderbilt's potential return" to the lineup, according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha.

"Before the announcement he was set to be re-evaluated in three to four weeks, team sources believed he was trending toward being done for the season," Buha added.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported last week that Vanderbilt would be sidelined for "several weeks" with the foot injury and that he could potentially be off the court longer once further evaluation is completed.

Vanderbilt injured his foot in the second quarter of a 114-105 win over the Boston Celtics on Feb. 1. He stole the ball from Jayson Tatum and ran up the court to prevent the ball from going out of bounds before limping off the floor.

While Vanderbilt has avoided surgery to this point, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka reiterated that a season-ending procedure is still on the table for the veteran.

"Until an injury is healed and the player's back, you're kind of always in the evaluation process of figuring out what it's gonna take to get a player healthy and back on the court," Pelinka said, per Buha. "I would just say we're hopeful that we can get Jarred back healthy and on the court without surgery, but you never know. Time will tell. But that's certainly our hope."

The injury is a tough blow for both Vanderbilt and the Lakers. He didn't make his season debut until December due to bursitis in his left heel and he had emerged as a key figure in Darvin Ham's rotation since.

Before hitting the shelf, Vanderbilt was averaging 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 51.8 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from deep in 29 games.

With the Lakers still in contention for a playoff spot, sitting ninth in the Western Conference with a 27-26 record, getting Vanderbilt back into the lineup would be a huge boost for the team's postseason push.

If at some point the Lakers are well out of the playoff picture, maybe the team would keep Vanderbilt out for the remainder of the year in order to have him fully healthy or 2024-25.