If the Los Angeles Lakers want to give themselves a shot at winning their first title since 2020, they’ll have no choice but to complete a trade this season.
The Lakers are 10 games above .500, but anyone who has watched the franchise play nightly comprehends that they’re far from a finished product.
In Lake Show Life’s Quinn Everts’ opinion, the organization’s 6-foot-2 backup point guard should be used in a trade to help it improve its roster before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
“Theoretically, (Gabe) Vincent is the defensive-minded ballhandler who can provide secondary facilitation and shooting when the starters are on the bench,” Everts wrote Saturday. “In reality, he hasn’t been quite good enough as a shooter or ballhandler in his two-plus seasons with the Lakers.”
“Finding a trade partner for Vincent shouldn’t be that hard; packaging him with Knecht (or Maxi Kleber) for a defensive-minded big man seems like a real possibility.”
“Vincent hasn’t been woeful in LA, but the fit has always been a little clunky. I will not be surprised if he plays like the Vincent the Lakers thought they were getting once he heads to a new home. It just never quite panned out how the Lakers wanted it to.”
Everts’ summed up Vincent’s tenure with the Lakers perfectly. The former Miami Heat guard was supposed to be a valuable second-unit backcourt contributor in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future.
Vincent’s impressive play with the Heat in 2022-23 didn’t appear to be a fluke, prompting the Lakers to sign him to a multi-year deal.
Unfortunately, Los Angeles’ investment has backfired, as the UC Santa Barbara product hasn’t done anything to suggest he can be an impactful role player with JJ Redick and the Lakers.
Vincent is averaging 4.7 points per game on 35.0% field goal shooting and 36.2% three-point shooting this year.
It’s safe to say Vincent is on his way out the door.
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