3 Lakers whose roles are not safe after the trade deadline

Los Angeles Lakers v New York Knicks
Los Angeles Lakers v New York Knicks / Al Bello/GettyImages
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3. Gabe Vincent

Gabe Vincent is the Laker who is impacted the most directly by the Dinwiddie signing. Dinwiddie will fill in and take Christie's minutes in the short-term but in the long run, Dinwiddie could end up playing Vincent out of the rotation altogether in the playoffs.

On paper, Vincent is still the favorite to get playing time over Dinwiddie if both players were healthy in the playoffs. Vincent is a better defender and Dinwiddie has been rather inefficient this season with the Brooklyn Nets.

That being said, if Dinwiddie comes to the Lakers and puts together a strong stretch of basketball then Vincent is going to be the one that pays. Dinwiddie has a real chance over the next several weeks to cement himself as the backup point guard in this rotation, which would leave Vincent with no real role to come back to.

Vincent has no way to prevent this considering he is still rehabbing his way back from a knee injury. Vincent just has to hope that Dinwiddie doesn't come into town and take his job, which is a very real possibility.

There was speculation that the Lakers were shopping Vincent at the deadline and this only weakens his case for a prominent role once he returns. If the Lakers were truly shopping Vincent and were also so eager to sign Dinwiddie, then it is not hard to see who the team may favor come April and May.

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