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The Los Angeles Lakers have avoided adding a superstar this offseason, but that doesn’t mean general manager Rob Pelinka has been asleep at the wheel. According to a June 30 tweet from Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Lakers have signed former Miami Heat guard Gabe Vincent.
The contract is for three years and is worth $33 million, per Charania.
Free agent guard Gabe Vincent has agreed on a three-year, $33 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Vincent’s agent, Bill Neff, negotiated the new deal for a tremendous undrafted success story.
Vincent broke out for the Heat this year in the playoffs and was an integral part of their playoff run. He averaged 12.7 points a game and hit 37.8% of his threes during the playoff run. He was certainly en route to the first big payday of his career following his run in the playoffs and the Lakers were able to poach him away from Miami. Vincent was not a name that was linked to Los Angeles this offseason, but once Bruce Brown landed a deal with the Indiana Pacers, the team had to pivot.
This is quite the success story for Vincent. He came into the NBA as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and had to play for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League until 2020 when he landed with Miami. He carved out a role and eventually earned a starting spot. He started 34 games for the Heat this past season.
Will Gabe Vincent Start for the Los Angeles Lakers?
The $33 million the Lakers gave Gabe Vincent will certainly make it difficult to make any other big moves. D’Angelo Russell and Dennis Schroder saw the majority of time at point guard for the team during the playoff run, but both are free agents. Now that Vincent is on the roster, it’s likely that one of them will be gone.
However, there’s no guarantee he’ll be the starter next season. He started half of the games he played for the Heat last season so the Lakers could see him as more of a sixth man off the bench. Russell has yet to sign with another team and could still be an option for Los Angeles. He has a higher upside than Vincent, but will also be more expensive. Regardless, Vincent can start at point guard if the Lakers need him to, but they also need to further solidify the position.
Dennis Schroder Likely Not Back With Los Angeles Lakers: Insider
Dennis Schroder came to the Lakers in 2020 following their championship run but only lasted a season. He bounced around the NBA before making his way back to Los Angeles this season. He ended up becoming a key player and made some big plays en route to the run to the Western Conference Finals.
However, Gabe Vincent was more appealing to the Lakers. According to The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the team is still looking to retain D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, which would likely mean that Schroder is the odd man out.
Schroder coming back on a veteran’s minimum is always an option, but he may have earned more money with his play last season. That said, if the Lakers can retain Russell and utilize him as a shooting guard with Vincent on the court, or have him come off the bench, that would help solidify their guard depth.
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