Getty Gabe Vincent and Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat.
Gabe Vincent has been a key part to the Miami Heat‘s current playoff run. Through the first two rounds, Vincent has averaged 11.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 36.8% from the field and 33.8% from beyond the arc.
His importance to the team’s postseason success makes his impending free agency that much more interesting. Vincent’s two-year, $3.5 million contract expires this summer leaving Miami with a decision to make, regarding his future. Part of the appeal of Vincent is the fact that he makes so little, but is still able to produce.
The 26-year-old’s playoff production has apparently caught the eyes of many teams. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Vincent is expected to have a “significant market” this summer, garnering interest from franchises around the association.
“This is a guy that’s gonna go into unrestricted free agency,” Charania reported Tuesday morning on FanDuel TV. “He’s gonna have a significant market around the league as a guy that can not only potentially start, but also come off the bench.”
“[Gabe Vincent] is a guy that’s gonna go into unrestricted free agency… He’s gonna have a significant market around the league as a guy that can not only potentially start, but also come off the bench” – @ShamsCharania
While money will certainly be on the Heat guard’s mind come July, right now his focus is likely committed to the Boston Celtics, who Miami will be facing off against in the Eastern Conference Finals.
He’ll be looking to find his stride in this series, after making just 8-of-his-last-33 attempts from the field, in Games 3-6 against the New York Knicks.
Jayson Tatum Discusses Face-Off With Heat
Miami’s opening game against the Celtics will come on Wednesday night, when they pay Jayson Tatum‘s squad a visit up in Boston.
The Celtics star is prepared for the challenge that the Heat will pose. He discussed how the recent history between the two sides has helped him prepare for yet another meeting in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“A team we’re extremely familiar with,” Tatum said via the NBA’s official YouTube channel. “It’s our third time in four years, I think, playing them in the playoffs. And you know, they’re very well coached team. They compete with the best of them. They play hard. They defend. They make plays and they figure out a way to win games. It’s going to be fun and it’s going to be highly competitive. I’m looking forward to it. It’s the best time of year. We get to play them again. You know, it’s going to be fun and as a competitor you love the opportunity.”
The Heat will have their hands full with Tatum, who is coming off of perhaps the most impressive five quarters of basketball in recent history. He followed up a 16-point fourth quarter in Philadelphia for Game 6, with a 51-point Game 7 to send the 76ers home on Sunday.
Jaylen Brown Discusses Challenges of Facing Heat
Tatum’s star teammate, Jaylen Brown, also took some time to open up about the looming date with Miami.
Brown touched on the Heat’s rich experience, and how that can make things difficult in a postseason setting.
“Progressing against Miami, they propose different challenges as well,” Brown said via the CLNS Media Boston Sports Network YouTube channel. “We’ve just got to be versatile. We’ve got to have intensity and be aggressive and that’s got to be the tone setter for the whole series.”
He then went on to dismiss any notion that last season’s series victory over Miami means anything.
“Nothing about last year matters,” Brown explained. “I don’t think Miami is thinking about last year, they’re coming out ready to play basketball…We just gotta come out with a great fresh mind and execute what’s in front of us. I think that’s the key. I’m looking forward to it, I think it will be a great challenge, and it should be fun.”