The Miami Heat's miracle run to the 2023 NBA Finals earned Gabe Vincent a much larger contract than he would have gotten otherwise. Vincent, who played a key role in that run, signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers this past offseason.
There were some concerns at the time about the Lakers spending too much on Vincent, who almost certainly would have been near the league minimum if the Heat were eliminated in the Play-In Tournament. However, recent play speaks the loudest and that is what earned Vincent his deal with the Lake Show.
Los Angeles may already have buyer's remorse as Vincent has played a grand total of five games this season due to a lingering knee injury (and he wasn't particularly good in those games, either). Whether or not you liked the signing, it is clear that the Lakers expected Vincent to play a bigger role and are hurt by his absence.
That absence may not be lasting much longer, though. NBA insider Shams Charania provided an update to Vincent's injury status, and provided clarity about when his targeted return date is for the Lakers.
"Gabe Vincent is doing more and more on the court...Barring any setbacks, his hope is still mid to late March to get back in the lineup for the Lakers."@ShamsCharania updates on Gabe Vincent's injury.
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 5, 2024
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Lakers are expecting to get Gabe Vincent back from injury by mid-to-late March
This is the first real Vincent update that Lakers fans have received in quite some time and it is a positive development. Typically, silence in these situations is bad news for the team so many were expecting Vincent's recovery to once again be delayed.
However, all signs are pointing toward Vincent returning later this month and that would provide a huge boost to the team. If Vincent can play like he did in the NBA Playoffs last year then he could be a huge added boost to a Lakers team that needs it.
It would also be nice to get Vincent back so he can take all of Spencer Dinwiddie's minutes in the rotation. Dinwiddie is the newest member of the Lakers and he has been pretty awful thus far in LA. This continues what has been a pretty bad season in general for Dinwiddie, who cannot be relied on to be in the playoff rotation.
Of course, this is still a quick turnaround for Vincent and there are no guarantees that he is fully ready for a consistent role in the rotation once the playoffs start. Vincent has to knock off the cobwebs and considering he has only played five games this year, that may take longer than the Lakers have.