Lakers land Gabe Vincent on three-year, $33 million deal, per report

The Lakers have swiped Miami's point guard

The Los Angeles Lakers are signing free-agent point guard Gabe Vincent away from the Miami Heat on a three-year, $33 million deal, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. In all likelihood, the deal will take up the bulk of the Lakers' non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and after they seemingly used their bi-annual exception on Taurean Prince, they are now limited to bringing back their own free agents and using minimum salaries to sign other players if they choose to operate above the cap.

Vincent has spent most of his career as a reserve for the Miami Heat after going undrafted in 2019. However, he was thrust into the spotlight during the playoffs when he stepped in for the injured Tyler Herro as Miami's starting point guard. He averaged 12.7 points per game and made a number of clutch shots to help lift the Heat into the NBA Finals last season. Now, he's moving on to the Lakers with a bigger contract.

It is unclear at this time what role Vincent is walking into. Both Lakers' starting guards from last season, Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell, are currently free agents. Reaves is a restricted free agent and is expected to return. Russell is unrestricted, and it is unclear what his market will look like. If he leaves, the Lakers could theoretically pivot into using cap space in order to replace him, but part of the appeal of signing Vincent is that he could potentially step in as the starting point guard if necessary.

Regardless, the Lakers likely needed to sign another guard with Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV also free agents. In Vincent, they've landed someone who just played on the stage they hope to reach this season: the NBA Finals. It's a big swing on a player without much of a track record, but the Lakers are betting that he can replicate what he did last postseason for them next season.