The Los Angeles Lakers completed their lone 2025-26 trade a few hours before the deadline, sending a 29-year-old point guard to the Atlanta Hawks for a 6-foot-5 three-point specialist.
The deal became official on Thursday evening.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired guard/forward Luke Kennard from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for guard Gabe Vincent and a future second-round pick,” the franchise stated in a press release.
“Vincent, now in his seventh NBA season, appeared in 29 games for the Lakers this season, averaging 4.8 points and 1.3 assists in 19.3 minutes. In 307 career regular-season games (86 starts), the 29-year-old has averaged 6.9 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 20.8 minutes.”
It would be near-impossible to find a Lakers fan who would have been content with retaining Vincent for the rest of the season. The UC Santa Barbara product had every opportunity to be serviceable in two primary areas: perimeter shooting and on-ball defense.
While Vincent connected on 36.9% from deep with the Lakers this season, he had too many lousy shooting nights to be considered a reliable long-range weapon. Additionally, the veteran struggled to consistently keep opponents in front of him, leaving him vulnerable to being picked on.
Simply put, the Lakers did the right thing by parting ways with Vincent and acquiring the NBA’s leading three-point sniper.
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