Gabe Vincent, the veteran guard, has a “standing offer” from the Sacramento Kings, according to The Stein Line’s Mark Stein. This isn’t just some casual interest; it is an active offer on the table, which is wild given how his last couple of seasons have played out. It is also interesting because Stein previously reported back in September that the New York Knicks were sniffing around Vincent, but he apparently “elected to wait for a more sure-fire opportunity.” You have to wonder what “sure-fire” means when the Kings, who are currently 1-10 to kick off the season, are the ones making an offer.
The Lakers’ Costly Bet and Atlanta’s Quick Turnaround
Let’s be real, the last few years haven’t exactly been Gabe Vincent’s finest moments. The Atlanta Hawks acquired Vincent from the Los Angeles Lakers midway through the 2025-26 season, sending Luke Kennard to L.A. in the process. In 53 games split between those two teams, Vincent averaged a pretty modest 4.4 points and 1.4 assists in 16.6 minutes on the floor. Not exactly eye-popping numbers for a guy who, just a few years ago, was a hot commodity.
Remember the summer of 2023? That’s when the Lakers bet big on the then-30-year-old, signing him to a three-year, $33 million contract. It looked like a steal at the time, especially after he emerged as a valuable role player for the Miami Heat, where he was a true player development success story from his G League days. His performance in the 2023 playoffs was lights out, couldn’t have lined up better for free agency. He was dropping 12.7 points per game and shooting 37.8 percent from beyond the arc as Miami made a run all the way to the NBA Finals. But that Lakers deal? It proved to be a costly mistake. Injuries plagued his first year in purple and gold, limiting him to just 11 games. He was never able to recapture that peak South Florida form. Across the Lakers’ back-to-back first-round playoff exits, he only managed a combined 21 total points and went a dismal 5-of-20 from long range. Ouch.
Numbers Don’t Lie: A Three-Point Specialist Who Can’t Hit
The struggles, especially with knee trouble from his early Lakers tenure, seem to have transformed Vincent’s game. He’s become almost exclusively a three-point shooter. Per Basketball Reference, his three-point rate in Miami was 62.9 percent, but that number has climbed to a staggering 75.8 percent over the past two years. That’s a huge chunk of his shots coming from deep.
Here’s the problem: for a guy who’s relying so heavily on the three-ball, his career clip from deep is a brutal sub-34 percent. That’s just not ideal. He also hasn’t historically been much of a playmaker, dishing out 3.5 assists per 36 minutes through his seven seasons, according to Basketball Reference. So, he’s not hitting his outside shots consistently, and he’s not creating much for others. It makes you scratch your head a bit about that “standing offer” from Sacramento.
Sacramento’s Desperation and Vincent’s Next Move
So, what does this “standing offer” from the Kings actually mean for Gabe Vincent? At the very least, it would give him a showcase, an opportunity to get on the court. He’d likely come off the bench behind starting guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Zach LaVine. But when Sacramento is sitting at a dismal 1-10 to open the season, it’s pretty easy to see why Vincent might still be holding out, hoping a different, maybe truly “sure-fire,” opportunity pops up. The Kings are clearly in a tough spot, and maybe that desperation is fueling their persistence.
Vincent is still waiting for the perfect fit, but with Sacramento’s record, it’s a gamble whether that “showcase” would be a blessing or just more of the same. The next few weeks will tell us if he finally takes the bait, or if he’ll keep searching for that elusive perfect landing spot.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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