The Los Angeles Lakers are a quarter of the way through the 2023-24 season and it has been very eventful thus far. The deck has been stacked against the Lake Show with the schedule and the injuries the team has sustained yet still the Lakers have a winning record and are striking distance from first place in the Western Conference.
With the In-Season Tournament knockout round currently underway and the ever-so-important December 15 date looming (when the Lakers can actually make trades), there is a lot of Lakers news and rumors circling the team this holiday season.
Here is everything you need to know in the news cycle this Monday morning ahead of the team's In-Season Tournament quarter-final game against the Phoenix Suns.
Lakers news roundup:
Austin Reaves signs lucrative shoe deal extension
Instead of signing with a well-known brand in the United States, Austin Reaves signed a signature shoe deal with Chinese brand Rigorer earlier in his NBA career. Reaves has since doubled down on that deal and won't be jumping ship to Nike or Adidas any time soon.
According to NBA insider Shams Charania, Reaves signed an extension with Rigorer that will give him an ownership stake in the company. Reaves will debut two new colorways to his signature shoe this Friday.
Darvin Ham provides Gabe Vincent update
Gabe Vincent has played just four games with the Los Angeles Lakers this season as he has been dealing with a left knee injury. Initially, Vincent's injury did not appear to be that serious but the timeline has continued to be pushed back.
Vincent was scheduled to be re-evaluated on Friday, December 1 and over the weekend Ham provided an update for the veteran point guard. It does not appear that a return is imminent, although he is making the right steps to return to the court.
Darvin Ham on Gabe Vincent: "He's progressing along. Not as of yet, but he's progressing really, really good."
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) December 3, 2023
Ham said Vincent is running on an anti-gravity treadmill, weightlifting and getting shots up.
The Lakers have not provided a concrete timeline of when Vincent may return.
Potential Lakers trade partners revealed
It is no secret that Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office will not shy away from making trades if the team can improve at the deadline. Now, we have an idea of the teams that the Lakers are potentially targeting as trade partners at the deadline.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers are monitoring potential fire sales in Toronto, Washington, Utah, Brooklyn, and Charlotte. There are some really talented trade chips on those teams, as well as other bad teams in the league that may sell off assets to LA this season.