Lakers Insider: 'Don't Think Teams' are 'Gnawing' to Trade for Jarred Vanderbilt

If the Los Angeles Lakers swing a deal to improve their roster ahead of February's trade deadline, don't expect it to include Jarred Vanderbilt unless the Lakers are willing to include significant draft capital.

"If Vando is in a deal, the Lakers are going to have to attach a first," The Athletic's Jovan Buha said Saturday night on his podcast (1:04:00 mark). "That's separate of whatever the other player is worth. ... There's still a perception of Vando of what he is in the playoffs, the contract, the injury history. So as I say, two things can be true at once. I think for the Lakers, and what they need, he has a lot of value. And that's a tough contract, I think, to trade. But from a league-wide perspective, I don't think teams are gnawing at themselves to try to get Vanderbilt. He's probably a guy the Lakers need to ride out at least the rest of the season and then explore in the offseason, depending on how things go."

Vanderbilt, 25, made his season debut on Saturday after recovering from foot injuries and surgeries, scoring two points while adding four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 12 minutes as part of a minutes restriction. His defensive value to the Lakers is high, though it's fair to question if other teams would be as keen to ignore his scoring and floor-spacing issues (28.8 percent from three for his career).

He is under contract through the 2027-28 season, but how many teams want to pay over $10 million a season for a non-shooting wing?

If the Lakers are going to make a splash, it seems more likely that players like Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent will head the other way.