3 Lakers on Thin Ice After Luka Doncic Trade
By Chris Schad
3. Gabe Vincent’s Salary Makes Him a Complicated Bargaining Chip for Lakers
You could argue that Gabe Vincent has been a player on thin ice since signing a three-year, $33 million contract in 2023. The 28-year-old was coming off a breakout performance, averaging 12.7 points and 3.5 assists per game while shooting .402 from the floor including .378 on 3-pointers to help the Miami Heat make a run to the NBA Finals but he hasn’t found that form since landing in Los Angeles.
Vincent missed most of the 2023-24 season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee and has been ineffective this season. Although he’s played in 40 games, he’s shooting just .400 from the floor and .328 on 3-pointers with five points and 1.3 assists in 20.1 minutes per game.
Getting low production out of a bench role isn’t great but it’s even worse when Vincent is making $11 million this season and is owed $11.5 million next year. It caused Buha to also note that teams consider Vincent “a negative value” ahead of the trade deadline.
“Gabe is viewed as a negative asset, and that’s just the reality of the situation,” Buha said. “Like if [Vanderbilt, Hachimura and Vincent] were expiring [contracts], it would be different. But to pay [Vincent] one more year, you don’t know about his health and the shooting has been very up and down overall during his Lakers tenure.”
The overall package makes Vincent seem like an $11 million hole burning in the Lakers’ pocket. But it almost feels like it would hurt an attempt to make a trade as opposed to helping it. It makes Vincent an obvious name to be floated out in the wake of Saturday’s blockbuster but also makes him the Lakers’ Rubik’s Cube when trying to find another way to improve the team.
More Los Angeles Lakers News & Rumors:
feed