Lakers' Jarred Vanderbilt: Likely out until January

Vanderbilt isn't expected to make his season debut until early January after developing fluid in his left knee during his rehab program for offseason procedures on both of his feet, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

Back on Nov. 20, the Lakers announced that Vanderbilt had hit a snag in his ramp-up program, after he had taken longer than anticipated to recover from the pair of surgeries he underwent in May, one to address a right mid-foot sprain and another to remove a bone spur in his left foot. While Vanderbilt isn't dealing with any foot-related setbacks in the two weeks since that update, the left knee issue will further delay his 2024-25 debut. Vanderbilt was a key player for the Lakers when healthy during the 2023-24 season, averaging 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 20.0 minutes.