Gabe Vincent was a vital piece of the Miami Heat’s NBA Finals run this past season with his 3-and-D skillset as a guard. Entering free agency this summer, his performance in the postseason was bound to earn him a payday, and it came from the Los Angeles Lakers.
Vincent signed a three-year, $33 million contract with L.A. to help fill the void of Dennis Schroder, who signed with the Toronto Raptors. Vincent shares a similarity with Schroder with the ability to play tenacious perimeter defense, do all the dirty work and knock down timely shots.
The undrafted guard out of UC Santa Barbara gets to return home back in California in hopes of leading the Lakers to their 18th championship and winning his first after coming up just short during his time with the Heat.
There was some expectation of a training camp battle with Vincent and returning guard D’Angelo Russell given their skillsets, but head coach Darvin Ham was quick to say Russell will man the starting job. However, Vincent will seemingly have a large role coming off the bench and can potentially finish games if Russell is struggling.
Vincent is a selfless player and is willing to do anything for his team to pick up wins and stressed that for the upcoming season when asked about Ham’s comments, via Mark Medina of Sportskeeda:
“I just go in there and be me. That’s something for D Ham to worry about. I’m not the coach. I don’t set lineups. I just go out there and do my job. I’ll do whatever I can to help this team win games and help this organization win games. As I’ve seen in the past, every night doesn’t always look the same. With that big picture in mind with trying to help us win, I’ll wear whatever hat is needed.”
Heading into his fifth season, the 6’2″ guard is a career 34% shooter from 3 and the hope is he’ll be able to be league average at 35% or higher with the open looks he’ll have playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. But Vincent took his game to another level this past postseason averaging 12.7 points on 37.8% from downtown, implying he can be a part of the playoff rotation when the time comes.
Vincent is one of many players that are expected to play big roles for the Lakers this upcoming season, regardless of whether he is starting or coming off the bench.
Vincent praises Lakers’ defensive personnel, believing it will give him confidence
Coming from the Heat and the culture they have with developing players and playing high-energy and defensive-oriented basketball, Vincent sees no defensive drop off on the Lakers roster and believes it’ll empower him as a perimeter defender.
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