LA Notes: Vanderbilt, Knecht, Kawhi, Powell, K. Jones

Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt will be sidelined to open the 2024-25 regular season as he continues to rehabilitate from surgeries on both feet in May, head coach JJ Redick said Thursday evening (Twitter link via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin). According to Redick, Vanderbilt will be out for at least two more weeks, meaning he will miss at least five regular season games.

A rangy, versatile defender, Vanderbilt was limited to just 29 games due to foot injuries. Redick said last week that the 25-year-old has not experienced any setbacks in training camp, but that he has not yet participated in practices, contact or otherwise.

Here’s more about the two Los Angeles teams in the NBA:

• No. 17 overall choice Dalton Knecht showed on Thursday why the Lakers According to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times, I think he will be seen as a night robber. Knecht scored 35 points in 32 minutes off the bench, scoring the Lakers’ final seven points of regulation and their first 13 overtime games. League executives say Knecht was left out of the lottery due to concerns about his age and defensive limitations, according to Woike, but he appears ready to open his rookie season as a rotation player in Los Angeles.
• Discussing the status of Kawhi Leonard‘s troublesome right knee, Hair clippers head coach Tyron Lue admitted that the star forward experienced a setback in Team USA training camp, as Janis Carr of The Orange County Register reports. “The swelling had gone down, everything was going in the right direction,” Lue said. “He’s worked hard to get to that point and once you start playing you never know what’s going to happen.”
• Clippers swingman Norman Powell spoke with Sportskeeda.com’s Mark Medina about a wide range of topics, including his first impressions of the team’s new arena, Leonard’s absence and the challenge of ramping up defense with Kawhi out. “Over the years, a lot of attention has been paid to my scoring part,” Powell said. “But I am using my defensive abilities and guarding again as a two-way player. I love it. I know I can do it.”
• After a strong camp and preseason, big man Kai Jones is set to open the season with the Hair clipperstweets Law Murray of The Athletic. Because the team already has 15 players on guaranteed contracts, Jones will likely have his Exhibit 10 deal converted to a two-way contract before opening night, Murray added.

Rory Maher contributed to this post.