The Los Angeles Lakers have one preseason game remaining before they start to prepare in earnest for their regular season opener on Oct. 24 at the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
They’re apparently getting closer to finalizing their rotations and lineups, after they requested waivers on three young players who haven’t quite measured up.
One big question remaining is who will earn the Lakers’ third and final frontcourt starting spot. Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Jarred Vanderbilt have been identified as the main candidates, but Vanderbilt has been unavailable since their first preseason game due to a heel ailment.
According to head coach Darvin Ham, the forward will be re-evaluated on Friday, and his status for next week’s season opener is in question.
Via Lakers Nation:
“We’ll see,” Ham said. “Once he gets re-evaluated on Friday, we’ll go from there.”
Needless to say, if Vanderbilt doesn’t get healthy soon, it will seriously hurt his chances of being L.A.’s fifth starter this season.