Lakers Rumors: Gabe Vincent Agrees to 3-Year, $33M Contract After Heat Stint

Gabe Vincent is reportedly on the move.

The guard and the the Los Angeles Lakers agreed on a three-year, $33 million contract on Friday, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

Vincent, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of UC Santa Barbara, has never played for another NBA team outside of the Miami Heat, but that will change in the immediate future following this development.

He previously re-signed with Miami on a two-year, $3.5 million deal in August 2021.

"Obviously, being a guy that's come up through the G League and had a different route than probably a majority of the NBA, that chip on my shoulder, that wanting to prove myself, I guess it doesn't ever really go away," Vincent said when discussing his future in March, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

"But I feel like I have established myself in this league and showed everyone, all 30 teams, that I can play and I can help a team win. So in terms of being stressed out about it, I'm going to leave that to my agent and let him deal with it and just do what I can to help the Miami Heat the remainder of this year."

He did just that and turned in a career season in 2022-23.

While Vincent has always been a secondary contributor and role player, he set career highs this past season in points per game (9.4), rebounds per game (2.1), minutes per game (25.9), free-throw percentage (87.2) and two-point field-goal percentage (51.2).

Vincent's three-point percentage dipped from 36.8 in 2021-22 to 33.4 in 2022-23, but he also had more responsibilities than just being an outside shooter on the wing. There were times when Miami asked him to handle the ball, and there were other times when he needed to defend the opponent's best perimeter player.

At no time did the UCSB product have more responsibility than Miami's playoff run, especially after Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo were sidelined by injuries.

He poured in 20 or more points in three consecutive games across the first-round win over the Milwaukee Bucks and second-round win over the New York Knicks, tallied 29 points in a Game 3 win over the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, and was a significant reason the Heat went from the play-in tournament to the NBA Finals.

Given how important Vincent was in the playoffs, the strides he took in the team's rotation and the fact he will be just 27 years old throughout the 2023-24 campaign, it would have been anything but a surprise if the Heat decided to bring him back.

Instead, he will suit up for the Lakers and look to help them go on another deep playoff run.