Pelinka and Ham are preparing for a season Vanderbilt-less with latest update

We are in the trade deadline week, and things have changed for the Lakers, as they have been looking to upgrade their guard's position and even rumors had they wanted another backup center, but with the most recent Jarred Vanderbilt injury situation, things have changed for them.

The team is facing a big problem, they are running out of their best defenders, without Jarred Vanderbilt, who is set to miss multiple weeks and there's a chance to need a season-ending surgery, plus Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish, the other two perimeter defenders also out for several weeks, the front office led by GM Rob Pelinka and head coach Darvin Ham need to prepare for that.

Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Lakers are preparing for life without Jarred Vanderbilt for the remainder of the season. “He’s going through it with a specialist this weekend, but at the minimum, he’s gonna be out a bunch of weeks,” Wojnarowski said.

“And they are bracing for him being out for the year. He had been playing his best basketball for the Lakers, Bobby [Marks], the last couple weeks both offensively, and defensively on the ball. He’s their best — one of the best on-ball defenders in the league, and that’s a big hole for them.”

Jarred Vanderbilt has been valuable for the team but hasn't been able to stay healthy this season

Vanderbilt played well on both ends of the floor in his most recent game against the Boston Celtics back on Feb. 1. In 16 minutes of playing time, he finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals on 3-of-7 shooting from the floor and 2-of-3 shooting from deep. But left early due to an injury, in what has been already a season of ups and downs for the forward who missed the first twenty games of the campaign and his season could be ending sooner than expected.