Getty Gabe Vincent, Mas Strus
The Miami Heat lost a few of their rotation players during the 2023 offseason, but things haven’t panned out as well as they would have liked. Among them was Gabe Vincent, who joined the Los Angeles Lakers.
Vincent signed a three-year deal worth $33 million with the Lakers. However, Vincent has had an injury-plagued season, having played five games total. Even worse, he’s averaging 5.4 points while shooting 37.5% from the field and 11.8% from three. For that reason, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto labeled him as a negative asset while using another former Heat player to compare Vincent to.
“Gabe Vincent is definitely viewed as a negative asset right now around the league because he’s been hurt, and he hasn’t been able to show if he can fit with the Lakers or not. There’s also always the stigma that Miami Heat role players are not as good elsewhere, with the exception of Max Strus and the way he’s played for Cleveland,” Scotto wrote in a January 24 story.
Before joining the Lakers, Gabe Vincent was a playoff hero for the Heat in 2023. Vincent averaged 12.7 points while shooting 37.8% from three. If the Heat re-acquired him, maybe he’d find his old self.
Ayo Dosunmu Floated as Heat Trade Target
The Heat may have made their big move of the season when they acquired Terry Rozier. However, they could still make y.some improvements around the edges. Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley floated Ayo Dosunmu for the Heat in a January 25 story.
Buckley explained why Dosunmu could be better than what the Heat currently have.
“Dosunmu could be an improvement over Josh Richardson, helping to cover for some of the defensive deficiencies of a Rozier-Tyler Herro backcourt.”
Dosunmu is averaging 8.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 48.2% from the field and 36.9% from three. However, the Chicago Bulls haven’t indicated that they plan to trade away players like Dosunmu.
The Heat have a defensive rating of 112.9, which ranks them no. 9 among NBA teams, per NBA.com. That’s solid, given their title aspiration. More importantly, they acquired Terry Rozier to fix their offense, which is a bigger issue.
While Gabe Vincent could be an option, the Heat don’t have the expendable salaries to trade for him, regardless of his underwhelming performance.
Heat Urged to Stay Away From Andre Drummond
Among the options the Heat have at their disposal, Buckley explained why they shouldn’t go after another Bull, Andre Drummond.
“He’s not much of a scoring threat in general, and all of his point-production occurs in the restricted area,” Buckley wrote in a separate January 25 story. “Considering the ideal frontcourt addition would be able to coexist with Bam Adebayo (a non-shooter) and Jimmy Butler (a rather reluctant one), Drummond’s lack of range alone might knock him off the wish list. Beyond that, though, he’s also an exploitable defender in space, and he’s never been the type of paint protector his massive frame says he should be.”
The Heat currently have Kevin Love and Thomas Bryant as their best backup options behind Bam Adebayo. Drummond is inexpensive, but he’s never played for a winning team despite his gaudy rebounding numbers.