LA Lakers fans were left feeling livid with team General Manager Rob Pelinka after the franchise’s latest injury setback. Backup center Christian Wood is expected to miss the start of the season after undergoing successful knee surgery, which further compounded their woes after it was announced earlier that versatile forward Jarred Vanderbilt would also miss the Lakers’ initial few games.
“Rob is an idiot”: Lakers fans rue team composition after Christian Wood, Jarred Vanderbilt’s dampening injury update (Image Credits: @chriswood_5/Instagram, @jvando_/Instagram)
Fans soon vented on social media and weighed in on the team’s composition which they believe lacks bonafide bigs in the mix, except for Anthony Davis and Jaxson Hayes.
Here are some of the reactions from fans on X/Twitter:
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“Reddish at PF? Seriously?? If you look at this rotation clearly after the starting 3 you have perhaps Hayes as a legit big. Reddish, Knecht and Christie can play 2/3 but none of them can play PF,” one fan said.
“Players milking us again…player option contracts, signing, then IR. Rob is responsible for this debacle! And I’m wasn’t a Rob hater but those contracts sucked,” another fan added.
“The season hasn’t even started and the Lakers already giving me a headache,” one fan said.
“This is a terrible lineup! We need a trade!” another fan opined.
“Didn’t watch most games last season n im sure I won’t this year either. This team is not it once again,” one fan said.
Last season, the Lakers lost Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt for a major portion of the season. They will now deal with health issues right at the start of the season. Over the years, LA has suffered with either or both LeBron James and Anthony Davis going down to injuries and that has played a role in the team’s playoff run that didn’t translate to titles.
What happened to Christian Wood? Lakers lose center option as big sidelined for eight weeks
The Lakers will almost certainly start their season with Christian Wood on the sidelines. The big who was acquired by the Purple and Gold last season underwent an arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee and is expected to miss eight weeks of action. The season unofficially begins the first week of October with the preseason games, and LA plays their season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Oct. 22.
Wood picked up his $3 million player option to stay with LA this season, and under JJ Redick will hope to see more minutes after he was phased out of Darvin Ham’s rotation. The former coach deployed Davis and Wood together on the floor for a few games but later relegated him to more bench time. Only time will tell if things will be different for Wood in his second season with the Lakers.