The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a mixed season. After an unconvincing win at Utah and a disappointing loss at Minnesota, the Lakers are 12-9 for the season. Additionally, one of the biggest problems for them this season has been in their big-man rotation, as they are really thin at the position. The frontcourt depth is almost non-existent at this point with Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes, and Jarred Vanderbilt all missing.

And now to add to the misery, forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who is yet to see the court this season after undergoing surgeries on both feet, is facing even more issues. During the course of his rehab program, the 25-year-old developed an effusion in his left knee. Furthermore, this has derailed his progression timeline and now the Lakers are targeting early January as a new time for his return back on the court.

This is, of course, very unfortunate as he only managed to get 29 appearances last season due to injuries, and the Lakers were very optimistic about the fact that he would be ready to make a comeback this season. As for the Lakers, other players like Rui Hachimura, Dalton Knecht, and Cam Reddish will have to fill in for Jarred. The team has struggled defensively, an area where Vanderbilt would’ve contributed greatly but as of now, that is not the case.

At the same time, the Lakers faithful are very frustrated, as they want the Lakers management to take some action. The fans are urging President of basketball operations Rob Pelinka to make trades and help the veterans LeBron James and Anthony Davis who’ve been carrying the burden on their backs.

The news of Jarred Vanderbilt’s roadblock in recovery has sparked a series of reactions from the fans as one of them wrote, “Yeah he’s not coming back.” expressing his thoughts. Let’s see more of how the fans reacted to the latest update.

“Trade him” fans demand immediate action amid Vanderbilt’s recovery roadblock

Jarred Vanderbilt has only been able to play 29 out of 104 games since September 2023 and has been plagued with injury problems. Amid the latest news, the Lakers fans are running thin on patience and are demanding a trade. One fan wrote, “he’s so cooked.. trade him he’s out for the season” stating that Vanderbilt’s season is over despite the Lakers expecting a return in January.

On the other hand, some fans even urged the management to face reality as he commented, “Lakers & Vando are always “targeting a return”. Let’s face reality.” Insisting that they are always targeting a return date but haven’t been able to achieve that for some reason.

Some even claimed that this was the “Worst extension ever,” one person tweeted. Referring to the contract extension Vanderbilt signed with LA back in 2023 worth $48 million over four years. Additionally, they have yet to see any kind of return on such a huge investment.

At the same time, a select few predict that Vanderbilt will never suit up in the purple and gold ever again as he stated, “I have zero expectations for Vander playing for the Lakers. Even if he comes back it will be for three games and he’ll miss the rest of his career with a leg cramp,” indicating that even if he was to make a comeback it wouldn’t last for long.

A fan suggested trade as the last resort and a deal that would benefit both the Lakers and Vanderbilt as he wrote, “Write it off as a loss and trade him. It’ll be better for both parties. Lakers have had the worst health luck over the last few years than any team I can remember. Lakers receive a lot of lemons in these trades.” As he expressed the Lakers have been unlucky in trades in recent memory.

While the Lakers staff and management remain quite optimistic about Jarred’s comeback, the fans have now had enough and want the team to trade the player and try to build a better roster. However, only time will tell if Vanderbilt will ever wear a Lakers jersey or not as of now, we hope he recovers from this setback.