3 biggest Lakers offseason regrets that have come back to haunt them
By Lior Lampert
2. Paying Gabe Vincent
After rising to the occasion in last season’s NBA playoffs and playing a critical role in the Miami Heat’s march to the NBA Finals Gabe Vincent earned himself a substantial pay raise.
Vincent shot 37.8 percent from beyond the 3-point line on 6.1 attempts per game in the playoff run with the Heat, averaging 12.5 points and adding 3.5 assists while playing solid perimeter defense.
The Lakers won the bidding war for Vincent’s service in free agency, signing him to a three-year, $33 million contract. However, not only has he failed to replicate the magic from his postseason run with Miami, he has barely played this season due to injury. Vincent has appeared in just five games this season, missing considerable time while recovering from a left knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery.
While it is nearly impossible to forecast injuries, paying such a pretty penny to sign Vincent under the expectation that he’d solve the team’s problems at point guard was logically questionable and financially irresponsible.
Not only are the Lakers not getting on-court production from Vincent, but their decision to sign him was a fallout of the team pursuing and missing out on other point guard options, including the next player mentioned on this list, who tops Los Angeles’ list of offseason regrets.