What is Jarred Vanderbilt’s contract with Lakers? 6’8” wing signs multi-year extension 

Jarred Vanderbilt became the latest member of the LA Lakers to sign a multi-year extension. The 6-foot-8 wing is coming off another solid season, in which he started during the team's run to the Western Conference finals. The Lakers relied on Vanderbilt as their best defensive option against the opposing team's MVP.

Vanderbilt didn't shrink under the bright lights of LA. He was crucial to the team's midseason turnaround after the trade deadline, stepping up his game a notch since putting on a Lakers jersey. His latest contract has seen him reap the rewards of his impactful presence.

Jarred Vanderbilt's contract details with the Lakers

Vanderbilt has signed a four-year $48 million contract extension with the Lakers. The 2024-25 season will be the first year of his new deal. Vanderbilt is in the final year of his $13.1 million three-year contract he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2021.

Vanderbilt will earn $4.6 million this season. According to ESPN, the final year of his new four-year contract with the Lakers will be a player option.

Lakers add Jarred Vanderbilt extension to their offseason highlights

The Lakers aren't playing with their food. They have wasted no time in retaining the majority of the core that helped them leapfrog from the 13th seed to the seventh seed and reach the conference finals.

They re-signed free agents Rui Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves to multi-year deals, locked up Anthony Davis until 2028, and Jarred Vanderbilt to a four-year extension through 2028.

Except for 30-year-old Davis, all other players are relatively young, with Russell aged 27, Hachimura 25, Reaves and Vanderbilt 24. The Lakers have secured their future as a competitive unit with these proven players well beyond LeBron James' potential retirement.

The Lakers took a different approach than their previous offseasons, where they preferred to pursue bonafide All-Star players. They did that last when they signed Russell Westbrook via trade in 2021. That move didn't work out well after LA failed to make it to the playoffs in their first and only full season with three stars, featuring James, Davis and Westbrook.

They were on the verge of another failed season last year, but a flurry of trades orchestrated by GM Rob Pelinka at the deadline turned the team's fortunes around. The decision to rely on this core seems ideal, as this has been a proven way of contending for championships.

The Lakers now have real assets they could use to retool their roster if needed, with a bevy of coveted role players like Jarred Vanderbilt locked down to long-term deals.