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Gabe Vincent Rumors
Lakers plan no major trades until season fully underway
Still, the feeling around the Lakers is that the team is pretty much set as it is, and that no major trades are forthcoming until the season gets rolling. The Lakers have had opportunities to include the likes of Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt in trade packages already, but have declined to do so. ‘They have not been attacking the trade market by any stretch of the imagination,” one Western Conference executive said. “Most teams now are in a sort-of wait-and-see mode, and I would include the Lakers in that. They want to give it some time before they make a trade.”
Bronny James has been on a strong developmental path since he was selected No. 55 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft. While it was clear from early minutes in the NBA last season that he wasn’t quite ready, he made massive strides in the G League, and the difference between his Summer League showings in 2024 and 2025 proved that completely. Now, the Lakers have an intriguing decision ahead. Their guard rotation is relatively locked in with Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Gabe Vincent. But injuries happen, and getting through an 82-game season requires more than just four players at the guard position. That is why Lakers assistant Nate McMillan, who recently appeared on “The Sports Shop” with Reese and K-Mac, believes that Bronny might be in line to get real rotational minutes this season.
FAILURE, OF COURSE, is a relative term for James. After going into cardiac arrest two years ago because of a congenital heart defect, requiring surgery that left a 6-inch scar down the center of his chest, wins and losses on a basketball court take on a different scope. Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, with whom James has grown close, sees the experience as a valuable mental edge for his teammate. "Having the game taken away from you at a younger age in the way he did, whether it be injury or whatever it was, I think it gave him a different appreciation," Vincent told ESPN.
Rich Paul: LeBron James has not asked for a trade
Dave McMenamin: Now, I've checked in with both the Lakers and LeBron's camp on this one. For the Lakers, it's business as usual. They have motivation to compete at the highest level and maximize not just LeBron's timeline, but they want to compete now with Luka Doncic. Some have said that the true cause of this situation was the Lakers not offering LeBron a contract beyond next season. But Rich Paul told me that they never asked for one. Paul also made it clear to me that LeBron has not asked for a trade. And Paul hasn't even discussed the possibility of wanting a trade in the future with the Lakers. Paul did tell me that four teams contacted him with interest in trading for LeBron. So now we wait. The Lakers have a full roster to have a decision to make on Shake Milton's contract by July 20th. They also have three expiring contracts in Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, who's here tonight, and Maxi Kleber, plus their 2031 first-round draft pick they can use in trade scenarios. Now, I asked LeBron just before tip off if he'd like to join the broadcast to discuss everything, and he told me, quote, "I ain't got nothing to talk about, guys."
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The members of the NBPA Executive Committee include: Fred VanVleet, President; Grant Williams, First Vice President; Mason Plumlee, Secretary-Treasurer; Jaylen Brown, Vice President; Jaren Jackson Jr, Vice President; Donovan Mitchell, Vice President; Garrett Temple, Vice President; Karl Anthony Towns, Vice President; Gabe Vincent, Vice President
But rumors swirled this week, linking L.A. to trade talks with the Utah Jazz for center Walker Kessler and the Miami Heat for wing Andrew Wiggins, and representatives for both Reaves and Vincent were not contacted about any of the teams involved, sources told ESPN, which is customary when a trade nears the finish line.
LeBron James expected to pick up final year of his contract for $52.6 million
The only mechanism the Lakers are projected to have in free agency is the taxpayer midlevel exception, worth $5.7 million, because LeBron James is expected to pick up the final year of his contract for $52.6 million, sources told ESPN. On the trade market, Dalton Knecht and the Lakers' 2031 first-rounder will continue to be positive assets the Lakers can include in offers, as well as the expiring contracts of Rui Hachimura ($18.3 million), Gabe Vincent ($11.5 million) and Maxi Kleber ($11 million) as Pelinka searches for a center. Pelinka indicated that Reaves would not be traded when asked about the team's core after the season.
Lakers to be 'extremely aggresive' in the offseason?
Bobby Marks on Lakers: I expect them to be extremely aggressive this offseason, especially with LeBron James, he's got one year left on his contract. I think there are three things here: You've got to take advantage of the $60 million in expiring contracts when you're looking at certainly players like Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachimura. The second thing is they showed their hand at the trade deadline when they made that Mark Williams trade that wind up failing him on his physical. They are going to go out and get a center this off season. We'll see how that goes. You've got one first-round pick to do to do that. And then the third thing is keep an eye on August 2nd, that is when Luka Doncic is eligible to sign that extension. So you're trying to build for the now, but I think you also have to have an eye for the future when eventually LeBron does retire here.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Mind the Game podcast with co-host Steve Nash, James addressed Redick’s decision-making during the series and emphasized that the locker room remained unified behind the coaching staff. “None of us questioned it. None of us questioned JJ and the coaching staff for what happened,” James said, referring to the lineup and rotation decisions made during the series. “Obviously, Gabe [Vincent] and Vando [Jarred Vanderbilt], guys that come, you know, given us so many great minutes. They definitely felt a way, and you know, because they’re competitors. S**t, we all feel like we could get in and make a moment happen, which JJ told us… It wasn’t a decision that was based on guys not being able to do the job. It was his decision based on the feeling of the game and the momentum of the game.”
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Any Jokić trade would be complicated, with bidders needing to send between $44 million and $55.2 million in outgoing salary (the former would trigger a first-apron hard cap, the latter likely at the second-apron in most cases). For instance, the Los Angeles Lakers could manage enough outgoing salary with players like Dalton Knecht, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber. That's an overwhelming top five with LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith, Dončić and Jokić, but the rest of the roster would mostly need to be players at that minimum (unless James chooses to opt out and re-sign at a discount to help add depth).
Lakers resting their stars for Sunday's game in Portland
Jovan Buha: Lakers’ injury report for tomorrow in Portland: — Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith are all out. — Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent are questionable.
They had been beat up, battered and embarrassed on their home floor, and as the Oklahoma City Thunder prepared for a rematch with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered to the team a blunt message: Never again. The Thunder had been humiliated on Sunday, carved up by Luka Doncic, buried under an avalanche of threes from Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent and Austin Reaves. LA earned that win but, said Gilgeous-Alexander, “you get beat up in the hood and you spin back the next day, you can't get beat up again. It's not an option.” “Tonight was going to be a fight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said on his walk out of Paycom Center. “We had to, I guess you could say, get our lick back.”
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