With the Los Angeles Lakers not making any free agent signings this summer, the improvement on the team is going to have to come from within. That involves the change in head coach to JJ Redick and also better health and availability for some role players with Gabe Vincent being chief among them.
Vincent was limited to just 11 games last season due to a knee injury after signing a three-year deal to join the Lakers that offseason. Now set to begin his second season with the franchise, Vincent is once again expected to have a big role on this team and he and Redick have already been in great communication since the summer and that starts with his health.
“First of all, the communication level regarding his health I think has been where it starts,” Redick said after the Lakers’ practice on Thursday. “I’m not gonna ask him to do anything that’s gonna put him in a position to get hurt again. I think we constantly have to monitor that with our player performance staff and Dr. Sims.”
When it comes to basketball, Redick made it clear that the biggest thing he is looking for from Vincent is aggression on the court.
“In terms of the basketball piece, he and I spent about three and a half hours together, had a couple of glasses of, I think it was Sancerre, but it could’ve been Chablis in Vegas during Summer League,” Redick added. “One of the things I just talked about with him is just having a really aggressive mentality. He is, and I knew this prior to him being back in the gym, I knew that he was super professional, Rob talked about that when I got the job. We have a lot of these guys, I feel very fortunate, but he’s like one of those guys where you’re like ‘Man I wish I had 10 Gabe Vincents.’
“He’s easy to coach, you know what he’s gonna be day-to-day consistency. So for the performance side in terms of on-court production and all that, I think the biggest thing for him is just having a really aggressive mentality. Don’t turn down shots, coming off an action your first shot is shoot a three. For him specifically I think just creating that level of freedom and clearmindedness is important.”
Players feeling loose and free to just go out and play basketball is extremely important. Coming off an injury-filled season where he struggled in the time he did have on the court, making sure Vincent is locked in, confident and not hesitating or questioning himself is important.
Vincent has great value to this team on both sides of the court. Providing timely shooting and creation while hounding the opposition on defense is a role he has proven he can thrive in on big stages and Redick will be relying on Vincent to bring that to the Lakers this season.
Gabe Vincent looking forward to helping Lakers after injury-plagued first season
For Gabe Vincent himself, not being able to play most of last season was very difficult. As a competitor he wanted to help his Lakers teammates, but was unable to and now he is really looking forward to making up for that this year.
“Any competitor that doesn’t have the chance to compete due to injuries or stuff out of their control, it’s gonna bother them, frustrate them etc,” Vincent said during Lakers Media Day. “So for me last year was frustrating, but trying to find ways I can still be helpful to the guys on the court, off the court in different ways. Taking the offseason to better my health, to come out here to be able to compete is something I’m looking forward to and taking on this next season ahead.”
