The Los Angeles Lakers have spent the offseason working to improve some of the obvious holes in their team from last season. Perimeter defense, 3-point shooting, and a big man presence down low were towards the top of the wish list, but NBA insider Sean Deveney recently revealed that the Lakers had a chance to part ways with Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt earlier this offseason, but haven’t flipped their rotational pieces.
“Still, the feeling around the Lakers is that the team is pretty much set as it is, and that no major trades are forthcoming until the season gets rolling,” said Deveney. “The Lakers have had opportunities to include the likes of Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt in trade packages already, but have declined to do so.” Much of the trade rumors in LA have had to do with superstar LeBron James amid the constant uncertainty this offseason, but Vanderbilt and Vincent have remained under the radar, for the most part.
Vincent had a slower start to his tenure with the purple and gold after an electric 2022-23 playoff performance during his final days on the Miami Heat.
Despite logging just 11 games during his first year in LA, Vincent was on the floor for 72 games last season, shooting 35.3 percent from beyond-the-arc and 40 percent from the field. This culminated into 6.4 points on 21.2 minutes per game.
As for J-Vando, his presence is certainly felt when he is on the court.
Across his 91 games with the Lakers over the last three seasons, Vanderbilt is averaging 5.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. His lessened availability the last two seasons has been frustrating at times, but he has demonstrated enough track record that the Lakers clearly see his value in keeping him on the squad.
With new pieces like Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, and Jake LaRavia, it will be exciting to see how the Lakers perform with their new look, and if this current team can meet expectations. Specifically, superstar Luka Doncic has applied pressure to the front office to position the Lakers into a win-now team, and keeping Vanderbilt and Vincent seem to indicate that they are a part of this vision, but only time will tell if they have done their job.
