Heading into the 2026-27 NBA season, the future was uncertain for veteran forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who was mentioned constantly in trade rumors, with the consensus being that he’d be moved if the Los Angeles Lakers could find a taker and potentially find another big man in the process.

Ultimately, longtime general manager Rob Pelinka was unable to find a two-for-one trade where he’d send out Vanderbilt and the recently waived Dalton Knecht before the NBA’s deadline to finalize rosters.

After being parked on the bench to start the season, Vanderbilt has gotten on the floor the last two games and has made an impact, especially with his rebounding, which has been an issue for this new-look Lakers squad.

Jarred Vanderbilt Reveals How He Can Help the Lakers

During an interview with Khobi Price of The California Post, Vanderbilt opened up about how he can make an impact off the bench.

“Just the rebounding aspect, the physicality aspect,” Vanderbilt responded of the areas he can help the Lakers after Friday’s shootaround ahead of the Lakers’ road game against the Warriors. “Whether that’s boxing out, securing rebounds, finishing possessions. Obviously on the offensive glass, too. Just putting pressure on the rim and offensive glass, two areas I feel like I could contribute to.”

In an effort to bolster the frontcourt, the Lakers signed three-time NBA champion center Kevon Looney during the offseason. 

Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Looney has failed to make an early impression in his stint with the Lakers and appears to be stuck on the bench. The veteran center didn’t see the floor during the last two games, which appears to be the right move, with Vanderbilt getting his minutes.

Even though Vanderbilt has had virtually no impact offensively, as he has yet to score a point, the 27-year-old’s presence defensively and on the glass hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Vanderbilt is now averaging 17.0 minutes per game, ripping down 5.0 rebounds per contest.

That doesn’t sound like much, but the value is there, with the Lakers being dead last in the league in rebounds at 39.2 per contest.

Jarred Vanderbilt Believes His Presence Makes Rebounding ‘Contagious’

There’s no doubt that when Vanderbilt is on the floor, the energy goes up along with the physicality and effort when it comes to crashing the glass.

“Even when I get out there, obviously just flying around and causing chaos, crashing the boards and kind of propelled [Quentin Grimes] and Collin [Sexton to] start picking up full court,” Vanderbilt said. “Jake [LaRavia] started crashing. It’s contagious when everybody’s boxing out. You don’t want to be the one guy that’s not boxing out and your man gets the rebound. So it kind of puts that pressure on everybody to just lock in, box out and do all the dirty work that’s required.”

So after being trade bait and resorting to watching from the bench, Vanderbilt appears to have a role on this team, which might be a step in the right direction for this team that desperately needs a boost in the rebounding department.