Lakers Ready For Return Of $33 Million ‘Wildcard’

The Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA In-Season Tournament, but had a shaky return to the regular season. They lost a game to the Dallas Mavericks and suffered another loss to the San Antonio Spurs right after serving them a cold defeat. Is there something they could do to fix the problem? Well, head coach Darvin Ham has to switch players and change his game plan because the Lakers are struck with injuries again. The good news? LA is ready for the grand return of their wildcard.

Gabe Vincent. He could soon return to the basketball court. A Western Conference assistant coach said Vincent is actually the Lakers’ wildcard. The talented player had great performance in the Lakers playoff run and he was relatively new. “To me, there is your wildcard,” the coach said.

The Lakers offered Vincent a three-year deal worth $33 million in the offseason. He was part of the Miami Heat for quite some time and joining the Lakers seemed like a good idea. Vincent helped Miami get to Game 7 of the East Conference finals and his playoff experience is a bonus.  

Lakers hope to get the best of their wildcard

Losing Vincent to a knee injury four games into the season was a big blowout for the Lakers. He missed significant time, but reports suggest that he may be back into game action on Monday.

“We won’t speculate. Once we get our update on Gabe Vincent, we’ll let you guys know,” Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said Friday. “He had a good workout today and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

“You can’t control health… the sooner we can get healthy the better.” Darvin Ham speaks on the injuries and effects of the IST. pic.twitter.com/ylQDJiYAt2

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 16, 2023

The Lakers didn’t have the best of their players early in the season. They lost a few games and analysts speculated that the front office may need to add more depth to the roster.

The Lakers got Vincent to ease their shooting. He had a career-high 36.8% from the 3-point line and the front office still hopes to get the best of him upon his return.

“The thing I thought was brilliant about the Gabe Vincent move for them was that it was so low-risk,” the coach said. “Obviously, you have the contract but it is a good contract, a contract you could trade. And on the floor, the worst you have is a very good backup point guard who is not going to turn it over and can knock down some shots. The best, you have a point guard in his prime who still has his best basketball in front of him.”