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The Los Angeles Lakers may need to focus on shoring up the depth at power forward this trade deadline.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that forward Jarred Vanderbilt suffered a “significant” foot injury that puts his status for the remainder of the season in jeopardy.
“I’m told that Jarred Vanderbilt has suffered what was described to me as a ‘significant right foot injury,'” Wojnarowski said. “There’s concern that he could be lost for the rest of the season. They’re consulting with specialists this week and going through that foot injury.”
Wojnarowski said that Vanderbilt will definitely be out for a significant portion of time and that him missing the remainder of the season is very realistic.
“At the minimum, I’m told that he is out for several weeks and very well could be out for the rest of the season,” Wojnarowski said.
Vanderbilt has played 29 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists across those games. He was a solid presence coming off the bench, and helped the team in its run to the Western Conference Finals in 2022-23.
Losing him long-term could be tough for a Lakers team that needs to make quite a run in order to improve its playoff standing. Los Angeles is 25-25 and in ninth place in the Western Conference.
This comes despite having talented players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis and shows how the Lakers have skidded since winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament earlier in the season.
