The most ready? Vanderbilt renews his contract with the Lakers, and the former talented five-star high school student welcomes new students in Los Angeles
Vanderbilt finally dominated the Lakers' major news sections today. The reason is that he signed a 4-year contract extension to the Lakers for 48 million. Since joining the Lakers last season, Vanderbilt has performed well and has become a new force for the Lakers. After Vanderbilt renewed his contract, the Lakers' roster became more complete and well received.
Vanderbilt moved from Salt Lake City to the Lakers last season, playing in 26 games with the Lakers, starting 24 games, averaging 24 minutes per game, 7.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 52.9% from the field. He was second best in his career after playing for the Jazz. Vanderbilt has contributed a lot to the Lakers on the defensive end, which is why his contract is considered a great value.
Vanderbilt reached a four-year, $48 million extension with the Lakers, and the contract will not end until the 2027-28 season, with the fourth year as a player option. After the contract is signed, there will be a 6-month freeze, which also means that Vanderbilt cannot be traded by the Lakers this season. Keith Smith praised Pelinka: "Some of the Lakers' signings this offseason are worth it, and renewing Vanderbilt for this price is a valuable investment. ”
Vanderbilt trained this defense after moving from team to team in the league.
Vanderbilt was born on April 3, 1999 in Houston, Texas, the son of Gwendolyn and Robert. He is the youngest child in the family and has 2 older brothers and 3 older sisters. He was born into a basketball family, his father was a basketball player at Wiley College and his mother played for Xavier in Louisiana. His older brother and sister are also members of the varsity basketball team.
Under such a family background, Vanderbilt soon came into contact with basketball and became the most promising member of the family. He joined the Victory Prep Academy in Houston. In his senior season, he averaged 28.5 points, 13.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. He was named one of the strongest high school students in the class of 2017 by Scout, Rivals and ESPN, a five-star warrior. At the end of 2016, Vanderbilt promised to join the University of Kentucky.
But despite being highly praised by major media outlets, two serious injuries prompted Vanderbilt to play only 14 games in Kentucky. In 17 minutes averaging minutes, he had just 5.9 points and 7.9 rebounds. Kentucky's unpleasant experience didn't stop Vanderbilt, who decided to enter the NBA draft.
In the 2018 draft, he finally heard his name in the second round. He was selected by the Magic with the 41st pick and traded to the Nuggets. It is a great irony that a person who was a five-star high school student a year ago was only selected in the second round a year later, and from time to time he had to go to the Development League to make a living. He played in a total of 26 games in Denver, averaging just 1.3 points per game before being traded to the Timberwolves in the middle of the 2019-20 season.
After more than 2 years with the Timberwolves, Vanderbilt gradually established himself. He played in 140 games for the Timberwolves, averaging 6.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game, making him a defensive label for the Timberwolves. In the 2021-22 season, he played in the playoffs with the Timberwolves, averaging 5.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Overall, Vanderbilt's Timberwolves years were a turning point in his career.
In the 2022-23 season, he was involved in the Gobert trade and was traded from the Timberwolves to the Jazz. At the Jazz, he played the best performance of his career. He played in 41 games, averaging 8.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1 steal. The Jazz, who were supposed to be bottom of the Western Conference, went 10-3 in their first 13 games and 26-26 in their first 52 games. These are the good things that the young jazz showed the world, and Markkanen was also named to the All-Star and All-Star teams.
It was in the middle of the season that Vanderbilt was called by the Lakers. The Lakers sold Wilson to the Jazz in exchange for Vanderbilt and Marik Beasley. The Lakers finally got rid of the big burden of Wei Shao and solved Wei Shao, a player who has always been incompatible with the team. After this deal, the Lakers finally changed their old appearance and began to pick up their records.
February 11, 2023 was Vanderbilt's debut with the Lakers, he scored 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists on 5-of-7 shooting, and won 109-103 with the Lakers over the Warriors; On February 26, Vanderbilt scored his first double-double with the Lakers, scoring 15 points, 17 rebounds and 4 steals, shooting 6 of 8, and the Lakers defeated the Lone Ranger 111-108; On March 10, in the Lakers' game against the Raptors, Vanderbilt scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, which was his highest single game with the Lakers; In the first round of the playoffs against the Grizzlies G4, he scored 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks, shooting 6-of-9 to give the Lakers a 3-1 lead.
Vanderbilt's career has had several twists and turns. He was a five-star high school student at the time, and injuries hindered his journey to Kentucky and prevented him from winning the second round; He went through the difficulties of the Nuggets, starting to gain a foothold with the Timberwolves, and his performance gradually improved. In the 2022-23 season, he ushered in the best performance of his career and was called by the Lakers. At just 24 years old, he has reason to believe that as the Lakers get stronger, his future will also become brighter. (Hairy Daddy/Supine Push-ups)