Following their big offseason moves, Miami could eye a reunion with free agent Gabe Vincent to bolster backcourt depth and finalize a revamped championship-caliber rotation.
The Miami Heat are just about wrapped up with their offseason moves. They made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by sending four players and picks for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks. The team did lose Norman Powell to the Chicago Bulls in free agency but made multiple signings to build out their depth. In just the last week, they signed Klay Thompson and Nick Richards while also bringing in Tim Hardaway Jr. on a one-year deal earlier this offseason. Simone Fontecchio also returns to the rotation on a one-year deal. Now, there is one remaining roster spot available. The Heat could opt to hold that spot open for flexibility purposes for later on this season or they could add someone to fill it now.
One player still sitting in free agency is a former member of the Heat. Gabe Vincent is still an unrestricted free agent at the end of August.
Vincent, 30, has not had the easiest NBA career as it has been mostly up-and-down. He originally went undrafted in the 2018 draft and was picked up by the Sacramento Kings on an Exhibit 10 deal. He did not play a single NBA game with the Kings as he stayed with their G-League affiliate, the Stockton Kings, for a season-and-a-half before joining Miami on a two-way deal in January 2020. He barely played that season in the NBA but bounced back-and-forth between the NBA and G-League teams. He won the Most Improved Player award for the G-League that same season and the campaign was obviously suspended due to COVID-19.
Vincent returned to the team for the next season, playing in 50 NBA games and earned a standard contract in the 2021 offseason. The guard's strongest play came during the 2022-23 season as he started a career-high 34 games and was a crucial piece of the team's miraculous playoff run. That strong stretch earned him a hefty three-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers worth $33 million. His tenure with the Lakers was rather unimpressive as he never quite reached the same level of play as he did in Miami. His Lakers career ended at this past trade deadline when he was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks where he put up similar numbers.
Now, after a middling last few seasons, Vincent could rejoin the franchise where he broke out. The Heat could use another true point guard behind Davion Mitchell and Vincent could easily fill that role. Given his recent level of play, he probably isn't worth more than a veteran-minimum contract at this point.
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