The Los Angeles Lakers announced that Gabe Vincent underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Wednesday. Vincent will be re-evaluated in eight weeks to check his progress.
Vincent played the first four games of the season before missing the next 23 with left knee effusion, returning last week against the Chicago Bulls.
However, his knee swelled back up after the game and now he is out for another extended period. It was rumored earlier in the week that the guard would undergo arthroscopic surgery, holding him out for a couple of months.
Vincent was the Lakers’ biggest signing of the offseason coming off an NBA Finals run with the Miami Heat last year. He signed a three-year, $33 million contract for L.A.’s mid-level exception.
After Dennis Schroder’s departure to sign with the Toronto Raptors, Vincent was looked at as someone who could replicate his impact or simply be a better player for the backup guard spot. The 27-year-old was going to be an integral piece of head coach Darvin Ham’s defense, being able to be a point-of-attack defender while providing spacing by knocking 3-point shots.
In five games with the team, Vincent averaged 5.4 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound and 1.2 steals on 37.5% from the field and 11.8% from 3. This knee injury makes for an unfortunate circumstance for someone who was going to be a big part of what the Lakers were going to do this year.
A potential return date for Vincent could be at the beginning of March, although that will depend on how his rehab goes. The hope is that Vincent will stay be able to return and be instrumental down the stretch for L.A., who may be trying to solidify seeding or make a last-second playoff push.
While this injury hurts, the Lakers have been healthy outside of Vincent, meaning that the team has the replacements necessary to fill the void while he heals from surgery.
During Vincent’s absence, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves will receive the bulk of the guard minutes with perhaps Max Christie getting another chance in the rotation.
Anthony Davis: Lakers struggling with ‘continuously changing’ roles
Vincent was not the only player to be sidelined this season. Jarred Vanderbilt was another player who missed extended time. Additionally, players like Rui Hachimura, Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince all missed some games as well.
Injuries have not been kind to the Lakers, but they’ve had to figure it out and certain players had to play outside their roles to fill those who were missing. Anthony Davis believes that the ‘continuously changing’ roles because of injuries has been something the team has struggled with.
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