Austin Reaves will make his highly anticipated return to the Lakers lineup on Saturday after missing almost a full year due to a right midfoot sprain. He underwent foot surgery and faced further setbacks with knee complications, delaying his comeback. Vanderbilt expressed excitement about returning and emphasized the long-term focus of his recovery.
Saturday's game (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) will mark Vanderbilt's first action in nearly a year. He sustained a right midfoot sprain on February 1st, 2023, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Vanderbilt underwent procedures on both feet during the offseason. He opted for surgery on his right foot and had a bone spur removed from his left foot in May.
These procedures kept him out since the start of training camp in September, and his rehabilitation was further delayed in December when he experienced fluid in his left knee. \'He's medically cleared and available for Saturday,' Redick said Wednesday. '... This whole process with him has been about the long term and we're going to continue to be patient. Him and I and the medical will all speak on Saturday, and if he's feeling good, he'll be available -- and that's no guarantee that he will play. He will be available on Saturday, barring any setbacks.' Vanderbilt was a limited participant in practice Wednesday, including full court 4-on-4 with coaches and some of the non-rotation players. 'Obviously it's been a while since I played so I think those natural nerves , but other than that, I'm excited,' Vanderbilt said. 'I think this is an exciting period. This whole process hasn't been exciting, so this is an exciting period for me.' \Vanderbilt signed a four-year, $48 million contract extension in September 2023 following the Lakers' run to the Western Conference finals but has been largely unavailable since -- appearing in just 29 out of 129 games, including the regular season, in-season tournament, play-in tournament and playoffs. Prior to his right foot injury last season, however, Vanderbilt was enjoying one of the most productive stretches of his career -- averaging 10.5 points on 66% shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals over eight games. The lengthy layoff blew past the stated opening night timeline that Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka had hoped for, but Vanderbilt said he didn't have an expectation of when he would return. 'I wouldn't say it went on longer than I thought,' Vanderbilt said of the recovery process. 'It was a collaboration ... between me, the staff and everybody. To where I could feel comfortable, me personally, and also for them passing the eye test as well as the measurements. So, it was a lot of different factors and variables that kind of played a part.' The Lakers have made major changes since Vanderbilt last appeared on the court, replacing Darvin Ham with coach JJ Redick and recently swappin
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