The Los Angeles Lakers came into the offseason with a plan of bringing back the core of the team that went to the Western Conference Finals while also adding pieces who can fit and add extra to the team overall. Perhaps the biggest addition was point guard Gabe Vincent, who was a starter on the Miami Heat in their trip to the NBA Finals.
Vincent is a scrappy defender who can play on or off the ball on offense and is a great catch-and-shoot player who shined during the Heat’s postseason run. But he ultimately chose to leave the Heat and join the Lakers in hopes of completing that journey to a championship and he is excited to be in the purple and gold.
Vincent recently spoke on his reasoning to join the Lakers this offseason, believing L.A. was the best fit for him and feels this roster provides him a great opportunity to shine overall.
“It seemed like it was the best fit overall,” Vincent said at Lakers Media Day. “Everyone wants to point at the dollar figure and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t play a role. I’m a human just like everybody else. But I think there’s a great opportunity here for me, especially with the way our lineup has shaken out, I’m really excited and looking forward to the year and what we can accomplish.”
Even though he won’t be starting as he was in Miami, Vincent will undoubtedly play a huge role off the bench for the Lakers and have the chance to finish games if he plays well. Furthermore, Vincent believes highly in this Lakers roster overall, praising the versatility of the team that has been put together.
“I think I have a little bit of a versatile skillset. I think I can playmake, I can shoot the ball and space the floor, I think I can defend. So a lot of it I think will be just filling in the gaps of what’s needed. I think it might be something different every night. I think my role might be in flux or in motion, but my role is to help this team win games at the end of the day, just gonna keep it that simple.”
That versatility the Lakers have is one of their biggest strengths. As Vincent noted, they will be able to play any style whether it be a defensive lineup, a shooting-based lineup, a small-ball one or a size lineup with multiple big men.
Vincent is a player who understands his role and how to shine in it. The Lakers provide him with the perfect opportunity to do just that and compete for a championship which is the ultimate goal for everyone on this team.
Gabe Vincent not concerned with D’Angelo Russell being named Lakers starting point guard
It was originally believed that there would be a battle for the starting point guard between Vincent and D’Angelo Russell, but that was put to bed as Lakers head coach Darvin Ham named Russell the starter before training camp began.
But that doesn’t concern Vincent at all as the point guard insists that all he cares about is helping the Lakers win. Vincent says that he will simply do his job and wear whatever hat is needed for the team to be successful.
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