How Gabe Vincent's Surgery Impacts Lakers, Now and At Trade Deadline. (Plus, Dejounte Murray Rumors!)

The Lakers on announced on Christmas that Gabe Vincent would miss the next 6-8 weeks (for starters) because that problematic left knee will require surgery.

That's going to have a big impact on the Lakers, who lose the optionality of a defensive-oriented guard in the rotation, one who is more impactful at the point of attack than Austin Reaves or D'Angelo Russell. It limits Ham's options with ball handlers and ball movers, which crimps the range of rotations he can deploy. And just as important (certainly in the minds of Lakers fans) is the impact it could have on the trade market, because (particularly if Vincent's recovery looks like it might be more towards 8 weeks, or longer, the Lakers almost surely would have to bring back someone who can handle and pass the ball should they trade D'Angelo Russell.

So this one puts Darvin Ham in a bind now, and Rob Pelinka in a jam long term.

Merry Christmas to the braintrust!

The injury has perhaps fueled a new rumor - if the Hawks bust up their core, could Dejounte Murray be an option for the purple and gold? At 6'5" with real defensive chops, Murray could be a nice fit, and might mitigate a lot of the issues that have led the Lakers to the starting lineup they've currently deployed. On the other hand, do the Lakers have enough stuff to make a move like that one? Will the market be too strong for the Lakers to compete?

Finally... the starting lineup. How does it factor into grumblings that players don't know their roles? That there could be some growing frustration with how those types of issues around communication and job description are being handled?

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The impact of Gabe Vincent's surgery.

SEGMENT 2: Dejounte Murray?

SEGMENT 3: On roles and rotations.

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