Gabe Vincent Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers’ Gabe Vincent Out 2-4 Weeks With Ankle Injury

October 27th, 2025 at 10:05pm CST by Rory Maher

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent is expected to be sidelined for approximately two-to-four weeks after undergoing an MRI on his left ankle, sources tell Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link).

NBA insider Chris Haynes reports (via Twitter) that Vincent, who started each of the Lakers’ first three games before sustaining the injury on Sunday, has a “slight ligament tear” as well as sprained ligaments in the ankle.

According to Dan Woike of The Athletic (Twitter link), Vincent was wearing a walking boot and using crutches ahead of Monday’s game vs. Portland.

The 29-year-old was limited to just 11 games due to a knee injury in his first season with the Lakers after signing a three-year, $33MM deal with Los Angeles in the 2023 offseason. He was much healthier last season (72 games), and was a rotation regular (21.2 minutes per contest) for head coach JJ Redick, averaging 6.4 points while shooting 35.3% from long distance and playing solid defense.

Vincent won a starting job to open ’25/26 after a four-game preseason slate in which he averaged 16.3 PPG and shot 55.6% from three in 22.3 MPG. The hot shooting hasn’t carried over to the regular season yet, as he was 2-of-10 from deep in three games.

Marcus Smart (right quad contusion) was also out Monday for the Lakers, who had a total of seven players unable to suit up, most notably Luka Doncic (finger, leg injuries) and LeBron James (right sciatica), tweets Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group.

Vincent is in the final year of his contract, which will pay him $11.5MM in ’25/26. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Lakers Notes: Reaves, Ayton, Doncic, Vincent

October 27th, 2025 at 8:04am CST by Arthur Hill

With Luka Doncic sidelined for about a week due to a finger sprain and a leg contusion and LeBron James still recovering from sciatica, Austin Reaves turned in a star performance in Sunday’s win over Sacramento, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Reaves carried the scoring load with a career-high 51 points while adding 11 rebounds and nine assists.

“Especially on a night where you don’t have Luka, you don’t have Bron, you don’t have Jaxson (Hayes), you got to go out there and be big for the team,” Reaves said. “I wasn’t in my head thinking, ‘You got to go score 50.’ It was, ‘Do whatever you can do to help the team win.'”

Teammate Jarred Vanderbilt told Reaves on the team bus that the Lakers would need 50 points from him, and the fifth-year guard delivered, becoming the 12th player in franchise history to reach that mark. McMenamin points out that Reaves tallied 45 and 37 points in the two games he played without Doncic and James last season, so he has a history of producing big scoring nights as the number one option.

“I do think for this group it’s important to know that you can win a basketball game without those two guys,” coach JJ Redick said.

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Center Deandre Ayton had his best game since coming to L.A., posting 22 points and 15 rebounds in 36 minutes, McMenamin adds. The free agent addition has fit smoothly into the offense, averaging 15.7 PPG while shooting 62.9% from the field. “This team is, no matter who’s on the floor, we’re going to come out and play hard as hell,” Ayton said.
Doncic and Reaves worked with Ayton in practice this week to develop better pick-and-roll chemistry, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register (subscription required). Ayton admits he’s a “confusing big” because he plays a variety of ways as a roll man.
Veteran guard Gabe Vincent left the game after turning his ankle early in the second half. He wore a walking boot as he left the arena, but he told McMenamin that X-rays were negative.

Lakers Notes: Doncic, Smart, Lineup, Hayes, James

October 25th, 2025 at 8:15am CST by Dana Gauruder

Luka Doncic is already hearing MVP chants from the home fans, and with good reason. The Lakers star guard has racked up 92 points in the team’s first two games — the most by a player in consecutive games to begin a season in team history, Dan Woike of The Athletic notes. Doncic scored 49 points in 35 minutes in a win over the Timberwolves on Friday.

“He, of course, dominates the whole game so easily,” forward Rui Hachimura told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “And it’s not some random team we played against. They’re a Western Conference Finals team. So this is crazy.”

Minnesota knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs last season but Doncic didn’t have revenge on his mind.

“I just want to forget about last season,” he said. “I was trying to move on. I don’t really think about that first-round series.”

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Marcus Smart signed a two-year contract in July after being bought out by the Wizards. He showed his worth on Friday with his defense and energy, Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times writes. Smart had just three points and zero rebounds in 21 minutes, but the Lakers outscored Minnesota by 24 points during his time on the floor. “Unfortunately my stats aren’t going to do me any justice, so I try not to worry about it,” Smart said. “I just try to go out there, and like I said, do what I’m supposed to do, and help my teammates out the best way I can. Being plus-24 is great and everything and it definitely shows the impact that can be made without touching the ball, scoring the ball, shooting the ball.”
Coach JJ Redick has used the same starting five in the first two games, deploying Deandre Ayton, Doncic, Gabe Vincent, Austin Reaves and Hachimura, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. Dalton Knecht was also in the first-half rotation after being a DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) in the team’s opener.
Jaxson Hayes was ruled out on Friday because of left knee soreness, Price adds. Hayes played 14 minutes in the opener against Golden State.
Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones allegedly gave gamblers inside information regarding LeBron James‘ availability for a couple of games during the 2022/23 season. James, according to Woike and The Athletic’s Joe Vardon, was unaware that someone he considered a friend was tipping information about him and the Lakers for betting purposes.

Lakers Notes: Doncic, James, Vincent, Opener

October 22nd, 2025 at 7:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

Following the Lakers‘ season opener against the Warriors on Tuesday, star guard Luka Doncic required treatment in the training room on the inside of his right leg, writes ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. However, Doncic, who played a team-high 41 minutes in the first game of the season, downplayed the issue.

“It’s probably nothing,” Doncic said. “Just felt it a little bit because my hip went [the opposite] way. Felt it a little bit, but it’s probably nothing.”

Head coach JJ Redick also didn’t seem overly concerned about the potential injury when he spoke to reporters on Wednesday.

“He seems to be fine. I don’t think it’s anything major,” Redick said. “He got some treatment this morning and we didn’t practice long, but he was a participant in practice.”

Doncic scored 43 points to go along with 12 rebounds and nine assists in the Lakers’ loss to the Warriors. As McMenamin notes, the team now has two days of recovery time before its second game of the season on Friday against Minnesota.

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While the Lakers showed some promise in Tuesday’s loss, the performance also showed the team’s desperate need for LeBron James, writes Dan Woike for The Athletic. “I’ll be honest with you, I did have one moment in that first half when we had a few possessions, couldn’t score against the zone, I (thought), ‘That’d be great to have LeBron just to throw it to the high post,’” Redick said. While James was unable to help on the court, he’s already helping off the court, writes McMenamin. According to Redick, LeBron was a vocal and helpful presence during the team’s post-game film session. “[James] asking questions, him giving his input, us having a back-and-forth is so healthy,” Redick said.
Gabe Vincent was something of a forgotten man coming into this season, but after a strong preseason, he’s seeing his optimism and hard work pay off, writes Woike. “They’ll get everything I have to offer,” Vincent said. “I’ll be pouring everything into it because I’m trying to win.” Redick said he wished he had a team full of Vincents, though he went on to add, “I think everybody does possess those qualities; otherwise they wouldn’t be a Laker. The difference is he’s the most consistent in bringing those qualities every single time.”
Tuesday’s loss was only one game, but it was enough to raise concerns, writes Bill Plaschke for the Los Angeles Times. The team showed its lack of depth, Plaschke writes, exemplified by questionable debuts from Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia. L.A. also had 20 turnovers and 11 missed free throws. “Not being organized in early offense,” Redick said, listing the problem areas. “Having the wrong guy bring it up. Not sprinting back. We make a run, we got two guys back, Buddy Hield gets a wide-open three for some reason on a full-court pass. Those are self-inflicted things. So it’s not anything Golden State did to us.” He went on to say that while having James available would help, what’s even more important is for the role players to play like stars in their roles.

Lakers Notes: Hayes, Starting Lineup, Injuries, Lobs

October 19th, 2025 at 8:01pm CST by Eli Cohen

Jaxson Hayes is dealing with a light sprain in his right wrist, but believes that he’ll be ready to go for the Lakers‘ regular season opener on Tuesday, reports Dan Woike of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Hayes left Friday’s preseason game early after injuring his wrist, but he says he’s ready to play through the injury. He is slotted to serve as the primary backup to Deandre Ayton this season after starting a career-high 35 games for the Lakers last season.

Hayes also spoke at greater length about his intention to become eligible for a Slovenian passport and play international basketball alongside Lakers’ teammate Luka Doncic, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter video link).

“We have the same agent, and my parents and his parents are all kind of working on it right now,” Hayes said. “But they came to me with the idea… I wanted to play on that stage, and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to get on that stage.”

Hayes added that Doncic and his family had been discussing the idea with him for the last year and a half. Woike confirmed (via Twitter) that Hayes is serious about the plan.

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The Lakers unleashed their LeBron James-less opening night starting five in the preseason finale, writes McMenamin. The unit featured Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura alongside Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Ayton. McMenamin reports that Vincent, who averaged 16.2 points on 55.6% shooting from three during his strong preseason, was informed of his promotion on Friday morning. “I do think in that lineup there’s lot of shooting around Luka and [Ayton], and Gabe is another ball-handler, another tough defender, said head coach JJ Redick. “I think he fits in well, but you have to take a look at every matchup we play against and have to make a decision there.” The Lakers went just 1-5 during the preseason.
Redick shared some minor injury updates on Sunday afternoon, as relayed via Twitter by SoCal News Group’s Khobi Price. Chris Manon, on a two-way deal, was a full participant after previously suffering a Grade 2 ankle sprain. Bronny James and rookie Adou Thiero were modified participants as they look to return from ankle and knee injuries, respectively.
There’s a specific part of the Lakers’ offensive approach that Redick is concerned about heading into the season. “We’ve got to figure out our lobs,” Redick said, as reported by Price (Twitter video link). Redick added that a good lob connection is based on “concentration plus control.” Reaves expanded on that, discussing the difference between running the two-man game with Ayton as opposed to Hayes or Anthony Davis. “Every player is not the same,” he said. “I can throw some lobs to Jaxson that I can’t throw to DA. I can throw pocket passes to DA that I can’t throw to Jaxson. So it’s just reading personnel on the court and getting reps every single day together.”

Mavericks Notes: Flagg, Nembhard, Robinson-Earl, Coaching Staff

October 18th, 2025 at 11:59am CST by Dana Gauruder

Cooper Flagg, the top pick in the draft, started at point guard in the Mavericks’ last two preseason games. Will head coach Jason Kidd keep him there? It’s uncertain, but Kidd liked what he saw, according to Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal.

“There’s a lot of good, positive stories here, and so we have some time to make a decision,” Kidd said. “But I think [Flagg] has done an incredible job of handling the situation of running the team. The other thing that I think is going unnoticed is that his teammates enjoy him running the team.”

Flagg averaged 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game across those two starts. The 6’8” forward struggled to defend the Lakers’ Gabe Vincent, who knocked down five three-pointers in the first five minutes on Wednesday.

“No matter if you’re 6-4, 6-2 or 6-8, when you’re in a pick-and-roll in this league against guys who know how to run the pick-and-roll, it’s hard,” Kidd said, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “It becomes a two-man game, and we’ll get better at that. But [with] his competitiveness, he’s going to figure it out sooner than later, and the more he’s in these situations, I think the long run he’s going to benefit.”

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The summer addition of Ryan Nembhard on a two-way deal was met with little fanfare, but he could be part of the early-season rotation due to his strong preseason play, Afseth writes. Nembhard racked up 20 assists, compared to two turnovers, in 64 minutes. “He is steady,” Kidd said. “[He] understands how to play the game. Ryan is a point guard who sets the table. In the games that we have put him in a different rotation spot, he has had success finding guys. Even when we talk about misses, we’re getting great looks with him running the show. He is steady, gets us organized, and our pace does not drop off when he is at the point guard.”
The team waived Jeremiah Robinson-Earl on Thursday but not before he made a strong impression on Kidd. “When you talk about him being a pro — he should be on an NBA roster,” Kidd told Afseth. “When you look at what he does, he’s consistent. He comes to work every day and does his job. He can shoot it, he can pass it, he can defend. It’s really sad that he’s not on an NBA roster for whatever reason.”
The assistant coaching staff this season includes two former head coaches, Frank Vogel and Jay Triano, plus highly-respected Popeye Jones, Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News notes. They were all added during the offseason, with Vogel sporting the reputation of being a defensive mastermind and Triano considered an offensive savant. “We feel that we have a championship staff that can compete at a high level to help our younger players become the stars that we all think they can become,” Kidd said. In an interview with The Athletic’s Dan Woike, Vogel recalls leading the Lakers to a championship in the Florida “bubble” during the COVID-19 season.

Lakers Notes: Vincent, Ayton, LaRavia, Smart

October 7th, 2025 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers didn’t have their “big three” available for their second preseason contest, a 111-103 loss to Golden State. It was an improvement from their 22-point loss to Phoenix. With Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves sitting out, Gabe Vincent led the way with 16 points and five assists.

“We came with more intention,” Vincent said, per Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times. “We were more focused. Obviously it’s different with those three not playing. They’re a huge part of our team and everything that we do. But next man up.”

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They were outscored by 25 points by Golden State with Deandre Ayton on the court but it’s going to take time for the Lakers to incorporate his skills, Law Murray of The Athletic writes. Murray notes Ayton is going to be very dependent on his play-makers to get him shots, unlike Anthony Davis. He’s not going to get a lot of touches to create shots for others or spread the floor with outside shooting, but it’s not time to panic about Ayton’s ability to help the team, Murray adds.
Jake LaRavia contributed 10 points and three assists against the Warriors and said he’s “already pretty comfortable with the role that I have” with his new team, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. LaRavia left the Kings and signed a two-year deal with the Lakers at the start of free agency.
Marcus Smart participated in the live play portions of practice on Tuesday, per coach JJ Redick, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register tweets. Smart has been limited in camp due to Achilles tendinopathy. “He looked great. He was moving great,” forward Jarred Vanderbilt said, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. “But like I said, his main power is that he’s vocal. So being able to help the guys. Communicate, that’s a big part of defense also. Being physical is one of them, but also being vocal, being able to communicate. I think he does both at a very high level. So, he can definitely help us on that end of the floor.” Smart signed with the Lakers after getting bought out by Washington.

Lakers Notes: Smart, Vanderbilt, Kleber, Backcourt Rotation, Koloko

October 1st, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Head coach JJ Redick is hoping the offseason addition of Marcus Smart and better health from Jarred Vanderbilt will improve the Lakers‘ perimeter defense, writes Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. Smart is a former Defensive Player of the Year and Vanderbilt has also been a highly regarded defender, but they’ve both been slowed by injuries over the past two seasons.

“With a healthy Vando and hopefully a healthy Marcus, our ability to put more pressure on the basketball earlier in the defensive possession will be a real thing,” Redick said.

Smart has been limited in camp due to Achilles tendinopathy, but Redick told reporters that he should be fully recovered by the end of the week. He has only played 54 combined games the past two seasons, and the Lakers are counting on him to be an anchor for their defense.

“I’ve talked with JJ and what he expects from me on both ends, especially the defensive end,” Smart said. “It’s everything I’ve been doing my whole career. It’s nothing new and I remember the first thing he told me was, ‘Hey, if we’re going to get the Celtics’ Marcus Smart, that’s who we want, that’s who we need. And we need you to be that person and be who you are.’ So for me, it’s just coming out and giving everything I got on this court and leaving it out there every night.”

Vanderbilt had surgery on both feet last summer and didn’t make his season debut until January 25. He said he’s feeling much better in training camp after being able to train during the offseason.

“It feels great being able to have a full summer under my belt. I was able to really work on my game, work on my body, and just having that confidence going into the year instead of playing catch up,” Vanderbilt said. “Being able to be a part of training camp early, and it’s a different level of approach and preparation when you already put the work in and being able to start fresh.”

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Maxi Kleber was set to undergo an MRI on Wednesday after tweaking his quad on the second day of camp, according to Lakers reporter Jovan Buha (Twitter link). Redick said the injury doesn’t appear to be serious, Buha adds.
Redick listed Smart, Gabe Vincent and Jake LaRavia as locks for the backcourt rotation along with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, Buha tweets.
Christian Koloko believes this year’s version of the Lakers is more driven to succeed (Twitter video link from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin). “You can just see that everybody is like more hungry,” K0loko said. “We knew what we did last year, we could have done better. We want to do better. We want to win the championship. Everybody knows what it takes to get to that next level.”

Lakers Notes: Doncic, Pelinka, LeBron, Thiero

September 20th, 2025 at 9:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers provided a huge show of support for Luka Doncic as he represented Slovenia at EuroBasket, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Team governor Jeanie Buss and president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka both made the trip to Poland to watch Doncic in action. They were joined by team stakeholders Kurt Rambis and his wife Linda, along with other staff members, and assistant coach Greg St. Jean worked on Slovenia’s coaching staff.

“Luka has a tremendous amount of heartfelt pride and appreciation for his roots and playing for his country,” Pelinka said. “I just think in the partnerships we have with our players, the Lakers want to be mindful of players’ passions and who they are as men and then lean in and support those things. So, around Luka, it was a very easy partnership decision that we wanted to support.”

Even though his team didn’t bring home a medal, Doncic was outstanding. He averaged 34.7 points per game, the highest by anyone since 1989, and raised that figure to 40.5 PPG in two knockout round contests. Team sources tell McMenamin that the Lakers’ coaching staff was impressed by the way Doncic moved after his offseason conditioning program. He was able to jump noticeably higher, split double teams and be more disruptive on defense.

“Players playing basketball in the offseason is something that, from a leadership standpoint, I support,” Pelinka said. “I think you could say in some sense that some of the offseason and sort of the current basketball lens, especially in the States, is on individual work. And I think that sort of the team environment can get lost.”

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Multiple stories have indicated that L.A. is prioritizing cap room for the summer of 2027, but Pelinka indicated that plans could change if the right opportunity comes along, McMenamin adds in the same piece. The team will face important financial decisions soon with Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) all on expiring contracts and Austin Reaves likely heading for free agency after declining a four-year, $89MM extension in June. Sources tell McMenamin that the Lakers would consider trading for a contract that extends beyond 2026.“In terms of team building, we’ve talked about the importance of having optionality and when I use that word, it’s not to say in the future,” Pelinka said. “I think optionality is also in the now.”
Among his many accomplishments, LeBron James last season became the first player ever to reach 50,000 combined points in the regular season and playoffs. During a visit to China, he talked about what it took to achieve that record in an interview with CBV Game (YouTube link, hat tip to Lakers Nation). “I don’t think it’s about the record, I just think it’s a microcosm of my career, of my hard work and dedication to my craft, and my love for the game,” James said. “I put so many hours into trying to be the greatest of what I can become and the best I can become. That moment is there is an indication of that, of hard work paying off. It’s always pretty cool when you can have those moments that show that the work does pay off.”
Rookie forward Adou Thiero told NBA on Prime (Twitter link) that he chose No. 1 as his uniform number as a tribute to Derrick Rose. “My first favorite player was Derrick Rose,” Thiero said. “So then I tried to go with the number I was throughout college (3) and everything. I wasn’t able to get that number so, you know, why not go back with what we started with.”

Pacific Notes: Harris, Wiggins, Hayes-Davis, Aspiration

September 13th, 2025 at 1:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Zach Harris has been named general manager of the Warriors’ NBA G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a team press release. Additionally, Noah Robotham has been promoted to assistant GM.

Harris is entering his second season with the Santa Cruz Warriors after serving as an assistant GM last year. He joined the Warriors organization with four years of G League experience, having worked for the Grand Rapids Gold as a basketball strategy coordinator for the 2022/23 season, the Capital City Go-Go as a basketball operations assistant from 2018-20, and as an intern for the Iowa Wolves in 2017.

Robotham is entering his third season with the Santa Cruz Warriors, having spent last year as the team’s manager of basketball operations. In his first season with the Warriors in 2023/24, he served as a coaching associate and basketball operations coordinator.

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The Lakers reportedly are looking to upgrade the wing position with the Heat’s Andrew Wiggins as a potential target. Lakers beat reporter Jovan Buha expresses skepticism on his Buha’s Block podcast (video link) that the Lakers can pull off a Wiggins trade without including a first-round pick. He also doesn’t expect that some combination of Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent would be enough to pull off a trade.
The Suns signed Nigel Hayes-Davis to a one-year contract in July after he spent seven years playing overseas. The Athletic’s Doug Haller details Hayes-Davis’ long journey back to the NBA. “For sure, I would’ve been surprised (it took so long), but to talk about the past is almost pointless,” Hayes-Davis said. “… I will say that I’m appreciative of the journey that I’ve had. Is it the one I thought about as a child growing up? Of course not. But it’s been fantastic.”
The ongoing saga regarding Kawhi Leonard‘s no-show endorsement deal with Aspiration as a means of the Clippers potentially circumventing the league’s salary cap rules has been a hot topic the past two weeks. ESPN’s Shwetha Surendran takes a closer at the now-defunct company, including its business model and high-profile investors.