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LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 18, 2025: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) sits next to Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (2) and Los Angeles Lakers forward Jake LaRavia (12) during the game against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena on November 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
For the Lakers, the decision to put forward Jarred Vanderbilt on the bench was always a somewhat odd one. Coach JJ Redick has taken to bemoaning the team’s defensive struggles of late, and while Vanderbilt is not the kind of point-of-attack defensive guru the Lakers need most, he is a very good combo defender.
The Lakers have a defensive rating of 119.0 when Vanderbilt is off the floor but 114.5 when he is on it. Still, Redick pulled Vanderbilt from the rotation for more than three weeks, giving him just three minutes of court time in 10 games.
But the Lakers ended Vanderbilt’s exile on Sunday against the Suns, and he wound up playing an important role in the 15 minutes he played, producing seven points and seven rebounds, with two steals, a block and a plus-7 in the box score. The Lakers won, 116-114.
Lakers Bench Was Huge
After the game, Redick said the Lakers probably would not have won if not for Vanderbilt. The bench, in general, provided the Lakers a boost at the start of the second and fourth quarters, and all four Lakers reserves who played–Jake LaRavia, Gabe Vincent, Jaxson Hayes and Vanderbilt–were plus-7 or higher in the box score plus/minus.
“I told him that he was gonna play yesterday, I told him he was gonna play,” Redick said. “He was in the right head space and he helped win us the game. Full stop. He helped win us the game.
“I’m really happy for him because the weight of not playing is a lot for a player and unfortunately you can’t play your entire roster every night. That’s just the reality of the NBA.”
GettyLos Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick didn’t hold back after their loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Jarred Vanderbilt Complained About Communication
Redick also addressed comments from Vanderbilt this weekend about the spotty communication he felt from the Lakers amid his demotion to the bench. He said there were conversations, “kind of here and there,” with the coaches explaining the decision to pull him from the rotation.
Redick indicated that Vanderbilt pointing to a lack of communication is a side effect of the frustration that comes with not playing: “It’s interesting because I saw you guys interviewed him the other day and he talked about communication and it being here and there. I played, so when things aren’t going the way you want them to, it can often seem like the communication is not there. The reality is the communication has been there the whole time.
Lakers Coaches Spoke With Jarred Vanderbilt
Redick said that multiple Lakers coaches, in fact, spoke to Vanderbilt about the changed and what was going on.
“We had, pre- when he got taken out of the rotation, when he got taken out of the rotation, Nate (McMillan) has talked to him, Scotty (Brooks) has talked to him,” Redick said.
“So this has been like a three-week process and one of the things that we kept saying was, ‘You’re gonna get more opportunities, you gotta stay ready.’ Him and I had a great conversation in Philly and then we had a subsequent follow-up conversation on Monday.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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