Arguably the biggest signing the Los Angeles Lakers made last offseason was bringing in point guard Gabe Vincent on a three-year, $33 million contract.
Coming off an impressive postseason run the prior year with the Miami Heat, Vincent was viewed as an ideal addition being capable of playing on and off the ball, defend point guards at a high level and knock down open jumpers.
Unfortunately for Vincent, his season never even got the chance to get going as he dealt with knee issues that kept him out for basically the entirety of the year.
After just four games, Vincent would be forced to sit out and eventually undergo surgery to fix the problem.
Vincent would return for one game in December, but the issues persisted and he would immediately be sat down again.
The guard would work hard to rehab and recover throughout the remainder of the season and would return for the Lakers at the end of the regular season, appearing in six of the team’s last eight games as well as all five of the team’s playoff games against the Denver Nuggets.
But it takes time to get back in rhythm after being out for that long, not to mention the lack of chemistry between Vincent and his Lakers teammates due to not having enough time on the court together.
Simply put, there was just no chance for Vincent to find that and be the contributor the Lakers hoped he would be.
In 11 contests, Vincent averaged just 3.1 points and 1.9 assists while shooting 30.6% from the field.
