The Los Angeles Lakers open training camp on Sept. 29 as the 2025-26 season is on the horizon. While this is the time of year when fans and players across the league are full of hope and excitement over the season to come, one member of the Los Angeles Lakers would be best served focusing on doing whatever he can to ensure he isn't shipped out of town by the front office.
Veteran guard Gabe Vincent survived the offseason without being included in any trades. Whether he can say the same during the 2025-26 campaign remains to be seen. One look at the roster makes it easy to identify him as a potential trade chip.
Lakers' Gabe Vincent on Chopping Block with Training Camp 1 Week Away
Of the lead guards on the Lakers' roster entering camp, the only player who isn't directly related to LeBron James that is on an expiring contract is none other than Vincent. That isn't the only thing working against Vincent in this case, either.
The addition of Marcus Smart makes the veteran guard more expendable now than he may have been at this time last season. While Smart is certainly capable of providing minutes as the backup to Luka Doncic, he will turn 32 years old this season and has dealt with several injuries over his career.
Given the fact that Austin Reaves is a capable ballhandler and facilitator, JJ Redick can get by with him logging minutes at the point guard position while Doncic is off the floor as well. With Reaves entering a contract season, he will want to put his entire arsenal of skills on display for not just Rob Pelinka and the Lakers but the rest of the league.
We have written time and time again how paying Vincent $11.5 million to be what he is, a volume shooter, is doing nothing to help the Lakers move closer to winning another NBA championship. In no world is a 29-year-old guard who shot 40% from the field a player deemed worth hanging on to.
Whether that additional help comes at small forward or a more useful fit behind Doncic at the point, the best way the Purple and Gold can make use of Vincent this coming season is by trading him for a player who stands to make a larger difference to Los Angeles' goal of an NBA Finals push.