Sitting at 25-31 and comfortably out of the Play-In Tournament, the Los Angeles Lakers sensed that something had to be done. The NBA’s All-Time scoring leader LeBron James is averaging 29.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 6.9 APG at age 38 — another incredible season from the ageless wonder. However, that isn’t getting the job done. Darvin Ham and the Lakers have had a hard time all season figuring out a rotation that works, and that’s because they were missing a defensive, glue guy to bring everything together.
Vanderbilt, listed in KSR’s 2023 NBA Trade Deadline Preview, was a prime candidate to be traded from the rebuilding Utah Jazz.