Two Lakers frontcourt players are healthier than they were last season

USA Today

6 days ago

The Los Angeles Lakers' roster looks significantly stronger than it did when they were knocked out of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. While they lost key 3-and-D forward Dorian Finney-Smith, they added forward Jake LaRavia and center Deandre Ayton, and they're set to bring in veteran guard Marcus Smart once he clears waivers.
Some Lakers fans have been hoping the team can trade away big man Maxi Kleber and perhaps forward Jarred Vanderbilt in return for one or two more useful players. Doing so will be difficult, because while both players will only make roughly $11 million this coming season, they probably aren't seen as productive players around the league.
But there could be a trickle of optimism that both will contribute in a positive way for Los Angeles. Per Marc Stein's "Stein Line," both Vanderbilt and Kleber are healthier now than they were at any time this past season.
'I'm also hearing Jarred Vanderbilt is healthier now than he was at any point last season, which will naturally spark hope that the versatile forward seems like an offseason addition himself when training camp opens in late September,' Stein wrote.
'Ditto for Maxi Kleber, who made only one appearance — for five minutes in Game 5 of the Lakers' first-round exit to Minnesota — after he was shipped to Lakerland with [Luka] Dončić on Feb. 2.'
Vanderbilt has been hampered by injuries the last two seasons and appeared in a total of just 65 games during that time. He suffered a foot injury midway through the 2023-24 season that forced him to sit out for almost a full calendar year.
While he's an effective and versatile defender and energy player, he's extremely limited on offense. Perhaps the fact that he's healthy this summer will allow him to work on his 3-point shot. For his career, he has made just 28.8% of his 3-point attempts, and opposing teams routinely leave him wide open in the corners.
In the past, Kleber has been a decent outside shooter and defender, and at 6-foot-10, he can play the 4 and 5 positions. But he suffered a foot injury shortly before coming to L.A., and before that, he shot a putrid 38.5% overall and 26.5% from downtown this past season.
In seven previous seasons, he made a solid 35.7% of his attempts from beyond the arc. If he returns to form, he could be a nice backup center for L.A. and perhaps even more ahead of Jaxson Hayes on its depth chart at that position.