INDIANAPOLIS — Lakers guard Gabe Vincent, who has been sidelined for most of the season because of left knee ailments, joined the team in Indianapolis ahead of Friday’s road game against the Indiana Pacers as part of the team’s six-game trip.
Vincent didn’t play against the Pacers, but Coach Darvin Ham said Vincent increased his workload before rejoining the team.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that Vincent, who has been sidelined since late December after having left knee surgery, is expected to be available for Sunday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets in New York.
“Right now we’re just taking things one day at a time,” Ham said pregame. “He’s increased his workload. So we’re in the process of trying to see how his body responds to that workload. And that’s as far as it goes for now.”
After playing in the season’s first four games, Vincent was sidelined for seven weeks because of a left knee effusion (swollen joint).
He returned in the Dec. 20 road loss to the Chicago Bulls, playing 14 minutes, and he hasn’t played since.
Vincent had left knee surgery on Dec. 27, with the team announcing at the time that he’d be reevaluated in approximately eight weeks.
He signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Lakers as a free agent during the offseason, with the expectation that he’d be the primary backup guard – a role now occupied by Spencer Dinwiddie, who the Lakers signed on Feb. 12.
“I really don’t want to even get into it too much,” star forward LeBron James said when asked about Vincent. “Don’t put too much pressure on him. When he’s ready to go, it will be a bonus for our team but he’s been out for quite a while.
“So, whenever he’s ready, we’ll welcome him back with open arms as a brother of ours, as a teammate of ours and we’ve been waiting on him, but at the end of the day, we’re putting no pressure on him. He needs to take his time.”
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ONE-AND-DONE
Ham had a brief tenure with the Pacers – playing just one game for the Indiana franchise in a 100-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors on April 12, 1997, after arriving from the Denver Nuggets via trade earlier in the year.
“It was short-lived, obviously,” Ham said. “But it was fun. I still have some long-term friendships from this team, albeit it was like the last third of the season or whatever it was. But I came in, injured myself, and had to have [knee] surgery. Had me out 4-6 weeks, something like that. Didn’t really get a chance to participate much on the court.
“Larry Brown, who I later on went on to play (for) in Detroit and win a championship him with in ’04. Reggie [Miller] and I still talk about those times. Mark Jackson. Jalen Rose and I still keep in touch. Dale Davis. Antonio Davis. It was some fun memories even though I didn’t participate actively. A fun group to be around.”