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Jon Chepkevich: Vanderbilt’s AJ Hoggard will join the New Orleans Pelicans for NBA Summer League, I’m told. The 6’3 ¾" guard averaged 8.8 PTS, 4.6 AST, 2.7 REB across five NCAA seasons. Playmaking guard with positional size who led NCAA DI in AST% in 2022 and earned back-to-back PIT nods.
After testing the draft waters this spring, forward AK Okereke will remove his name from the draft pool and transfer from Cornell to Vanderbilt, he tells Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Okereke had a solid junior season in 2024/25, putting up 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while making 59.5% of his field goal attempts.
“It’s been great,” says Vanderbilt of playing with James. “Being able to learn and be around and be teammates with one of the best players to ever play, and just watching him each and every day, it’s been inspiring. He’s been—even at this age—leading our team ever since I’ve been here. Just being able to watch his approach and how you take care of yourself, how you approach the game, super dope.”
“It takes two minutes to do it,” Vanderbilt tells FOS. “And that’s a lot of money. I don’t care how much money you make. That’s still a lot of money. Especially when all you have to do is fill out a little form. And I feel like I earned that money as well.” Vanderbilt’s comments are representative of how most players feel. Asked by FOS why they filed for the House settlement, the majority responded the same way. “Free money is free money,” Lakers center Jaxson Hayes tells FOS. Others, especially the veterans who left college before 2021 and missed out on the NIL era, have a more serious take. “It’s not free,” Nets guard Cam Johnson says. “We worked for it.”
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As for the excursion as a whole, at some point during the season, team president Koby Altman decided the Cavs would travel early to Nashville for some fun and some practice. They attended Vanderbilt’s SEC tournament game Wednesday, held a team dinner and some players and coaches enjoyed Nashville’s famous Broadway district. “Koby’s a great driver of these things,” Atkinson said. “And man, that was one thing we talked about in the beginning of the season, when the season (gets) so long, it’s, how do we keep our guys fresh? How do we keep them engaged? … I do feel a little bit right now with our guys like there’s a little bit of a monotony setting in. And so it was perfect timing for the trip.”
FIVE YEARS EARLIER, Altman had selected Garland with the No. 5 pick in the 2019 draft despite having only 4½ games of film to study from his freshman year at Vanderbilt, as a knee injury cut short his lone college season. It was a bet on the talent of a four-time state champion in high school who had wowed the Cavaliers' brass with his skill in a private workout. That gamble on Garland paid off. He emerged as an All-Star as a 22-year-old in 2021-22, when he averaged 21.7 points and 8.6 assists as the young leader of a team that doubled its win total from the previous season, emboldening the front office to pull off a blockbuster trade for Mitchell in an attempt to expedite the process of building a contender in Cleveland. Garland put up similar numbers in his first campaign playing alongside Mitchell before his production dipped last season (18.0 PPG, 6.5 APG).
Vanderbilt has three years remaining on his deal — the kind of long-term money that’s poison in trades. Multiple NBA executives believe the cost to include Vanderbilt in a trade is a first-round pick, meaning he’s far more valuable to the Lakers as a usable player than he would be as part of a trade in which they would have to add assets and essentially be overpaying for whatever they got back.
Dave McMenamin: Jarred Vanderbilt has been assigned to the South Bay Lakers, the team announced. South Bay practices this morning before the Lakers do, so it gives Vanderbilt a chance to get in extra court time as he continues his progression towards a return.
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Jarred Vanderbilt back within next week or two?
According to league sources and some close to the team, there is growing optimism Vanderbilt might make his return within the next week or two, whereupon JJ Redick intends to utilize him in an interesting way. Whenever Vanderbilt does return, sources say he'll be used up and down the Lakers' frontcourt, and will almost assuredly spend time at center in Redick's athletic, switchy vision for the team.
Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick says Jarred Vanderbilt is dealing with “minor discomfort” in his feet as he continues his rehab progression, but would not call it a “setback.” Redick said there won’t be another update on Vanderbilt for another week or two.
Coach JJ Redick said after Saturday’s practice that Vanderbilt hasn’t had any setbacks and that the 6-foot-8 forward being available for the start of the season remains the hope. “He’s following our ramp-up protocol,” Redick said. “He has not done any contact work. He has not participated in any non-contact practice. But we’re still trying to target the beginning of the season. Redick added: “Our ramp-up process, we’re on, sort of, target. So, it remains to be seen if he’ll be available. But no setbacks. And he just continues to work his way back.”
Khobi Price: Jarred Vanderbilt is progressing in his "ramp-up protocol" with the hopes of being available for the beginning of the season, per JJ Redick. Vanderbilt hasn't participated in any non-contact practice drills or done any contact work. Redick said there haven't been any setbacks.
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