Gabe Vincent played himself out of favor with the Los Angeles Lakers, and especially with the fanbase. Lakers fans celebrated in the streets when their former guard was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Luke Kennard. Despite his struggles, Vincent could get one last shot in the NBA.
The veteran guard would have the New York Knicks to quietly thank for the potential window of opportunity. The defending champions just scooped up a bunch of free agents, signing them to training camp deals in a flurry of moves. Among the signings were John Konchar, Drew Eubanks, James Wiseman, Bruce Brown, and Ochai Agbaji.
Notably, Konchar was just connected to the Miami Heat in Marc Stein's latest round of reporting. The NBA insider listed Miami alongside the Knicks, Orlando Magic, and Toronto Raptors as interested teams when it came to the 30-year-old vet. New York got him and the others will be forced to pivot.
Miami still has an unfilled roster spot, and the familiarity with Vincent is something Heat Site Expert Michael Saenz suggested could lead to a reunion in South Beach. Gabe was also linked to his old team earlier in the summer. If anyone is going to give him a chance to stick around in the NBA after years of disappointing production, it will be Pat Riley's organization.
Gabe Vincent returning to the Heat grows more likely by the day
When Miami were still sitting at 12 players, Heat insider Barry Jackson had Vincent as one of the players who were in consideration to fill the final spots on the roster.
Jackson nailed the fact of Klay Thompson being destined for Miami. After missing out on the likes of DeMar DeRozan, the Heat pivoted to strengthening their frontcourt with Nick Richards. That just leaves one main roster spot unaccounted for.
The Heat have no immediate obligation to fill that opening. However, Vincent's chances of being the man to get that job should be going up considerably.
The only place in his career where the former Laker ever looked like a strong role player was Miami. Whatever secret sauce Erik Spoelstra has, it clearly worked for Vincent. It worked too well, even, convincing Rob Pelinka he was worth $33 million over three years for Los Angeles.
That was not the case. After failing to bounce back with the Hawks following the pre-deadline trade, there was no one surprise about Vincent's inability to find a new team. Likewise, there will also be no shock factor to Miami being the team to step up and possibly change that before the offseason ends.
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