Lakers Rumors: Gabe Vincent Will Have Surgery on Knee Injury, Out 6-8 Weeks

The Los Angeles Lakers will be without guard Gabe Vincent for at least six weeks due to a knee injury.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Vincent will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and will miss six to eight weeks.

Vincent has only played in five games this season, but there was some hope recently that he might be turning a corner.

Charania reported two weeks ago that Vincent was "hopeful" to return on Dec. 18 as he was rehabbing from a left knee effusion. He was in the lineup for the Dec. 20 game against the Chicago Bulls when he played 14 minutes, going 1-of-4 from the field.

Head coach Darvin Ham told reporters before Saturday's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder that Vincent was experiencing "a little bit of swelling" in his knee and the team was working to determine the next steps in his recovery process.

Vincent was one of the biggest offseason acquisitions by the Lakers. The 27-year-old signed a three-year, $33 million deal after spending his first four seasons with the Miami Heat. He was brought in to help solidify their backcourt rotation and build off his success in last year's postseason.

After playing primarily off the bench with the Heat, Vincent took on an increased role in the playoffs when Tyler Herro suffered a broken hand in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Vincent responded by averaging 12.7 points on 37.8 percent three-point shooting and 3.5 assists in 22 games.

The Lakers have been trying to find a guard rotation that optimizes their talent since Vincent has been unable to play most of the season. D'Angelo Russell was moved to the bench for the Thunder game, with LeBron James taking over the point and Jarred Vanderbilt shifting into the starting five.

Los Angeles is currently ninth in the Western Conference with a 16-14 record going into a Christmas Day showdown against the Boston Celtics.

A six-to-eight timetable would have Vincent back on the court in the first week of February at the earliest.