"Dude hasn't played in years" - Lakers fans react to Jarred Vanderbilt suffering setback in lengthy knee injury rehab

The last time that Jarred Vanderbilt suited up for the LA Lakers was on Feb. 1, 2024, in a game against the Boston Celtics. In that contest, Vanderbilt suffered a foot sprain. This injury kept him sidelined for the remainder of the 2023-24 season, limiting him to only 29 games.

There was some expectation that the forward would return to action soon but that potential comeback appears to have been delayed. According to NBA Insider Shams Charania, there is fluid in his left knee which has pushed back his return to action to January.

The latest development in Vanderbilt's injury has caused some fans to make jokes about the situation on social media.

"Dude hasn't played in years," one fan tweeted.

"He gets more time to show off his outfits on the bench," one fan said.

"Him and Kawhi go band for band on who can miss more time," one person said.

Meanwhile, other fans have made comments about what Vanderbilt or the Lakers front office should do next.

"Yea it’s time for him to be a Warrior," one fan said.

"At this point just retire," one person chimed in.

"Bro the next day after he gets traded, he will be 100% healthy and will set his career high vs Lakers," one person tweeted.

Jarred Vanderbilt was traded to LA from the Utah Jazz midway through the 2022-23 season. He ended up playing 26 regular season games for LA as well as 15 Playoff games.

He missed the first 20 games of the 2023-24 season due to a heel injury. He came back on Dec. 2023 and played 29 games before spraining his foot against the Boston Celtics on Feb. 1.

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The LA Lakers are in the bottom half of the league defensively amidst Jarred Vanderbilt's absence

The Lakers are eighth in the West with a 12-9 record. This isn't an ideal position for a team that has championship aspirations and part of the reason they've struggled is their defense.

Currently, LA is one of the worst teams in the league in terms of the opponent's field goal percentage. Their opponents have made 48.2% of their field goal attempts, which ranks 26th in the NBA.

This has led to the Lakers being among the lower-ranked squads defensively. They are 116.7 in defensive rating, which is 24th in the league. They have also struggled in forcing turnovers, averaging only 7.4 steals per game. An average that is better only than six other teams.

Jarred Vanderbilt is known as a disruptor on defense. Throughout his career, he has averaged 1.1 spg and has averaged 1.2 for the Lakers in the past season and a half. While getting him back will not fix all of the team's issues, it could help address some of their issues.