The Miami Heat may be lining up to pull another name away from the Warriors’ orbit, and this one feels like a familiar fit.
With the Dallas Mavericks having landed Klay Thompson on a two-year, $11.5 million deal, both Dallas and Golden State still have two roster spots open as training camp approaches. That leaves plenty of room for movement, and Gabe Vincent has emerged as one of the more interesting names still sitting on the board.
Vincent has been tied to both teams in recent weeks. Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported at the end of last month that the Warriors were considering Vincent as a free agency option, along with Kelly Olynyk and Brandon Williams. Nearly two months into free agency, all three remain unsigned.
Now Miami is in the mix too. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported earlier this week that the Heat have interest in Vincent, and the connection makes sense. He spent the first four seasons of his career in Miami, then played a key role in the Heat’s 2023 run to the NBA Finals under now-Warriors forward Jimmy Butler.
That run helped Vincent earn a three-year, $33 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, but things never really clicked the same way after that. He was eventually traded to the Atlanta Hawks before February’s mid-season deadline, and last season he averaged just 4.4 points and 1.4 assists while shooting 35.2% from the field and 34.1% from 3-point range.
For Miami, the appeal is obvious: they know him, and they’ve seen what he can do when things are rolling. For Golden State, the calculus looks different. The Warriors may have shown some interest, but there’s little from Vincent’s recent production to suggest he’d become a dependable rotation piece in the Bay.
Even so, the door isn’t fully closed. Butler could be back in the rotation before the end of the calendar year, and Golden State still has a month to sort out its training camp roster. But if Vincent winds up back in Miami, it would mark another Warriors-linked name the Heat have been able to bring in this offseason - though in this case, the comparison to two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is obviously a very different one.
In Other News...
Warriors May Have Just One Way To Ease Stephen Curry Frustration
The Warriors are still living with the realities of a roster that has little room for splashy fixes, and that has made every move feel more important than usual. With the front office appearing determined to protect future draft capital, the path to improving around Stephen Curry looks narrower than it once did, especially as the market keeps thinning out for the kind of help Golden State would like to find.
One familiar name could give the team a cleaner answer, at least in spirit, if not as a cure-all. Seth Curry remains the sort of low-drama guard who would fit a team trying to balance present competitiveness with long-term flexibility, and there is a case to be made that bringing him back would ease some of Stephen Currys frustration with the state of the roster. It is hardly a complete solution, but in a summer short on obvious ones, even a modest reunion starts to look meaningful. [Read more 🡒]
Klay Thompson Just Closed Another Painful Warriors Chapter
Klay Thompsons departure from the Warriors is no longer a lingering what-if. The former Golden State guard has now landed with the Miami Heat, giving the veteran sharpshooter a new chapter after one of the most defining runs in franchise history. For Warriors fans, it is another reminder that the core built around Thompson has fully shifted into a different era.
Miami moved quickly to make the relationship official once Thompson cleared waivers, and Heat president Pat Riley made clear how he views the fit. Riley pointed to Thompson as a four-time NBA champion and an all-around player who can help on both ends of the floor, a rsum that fits a team still chasing its first title since 2013. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Add Summer League Standout With A Real Roster Battle Ahead
Deivon Smith is headed back into the Warriors orbit, with his agent reporting that he is signing with Golden State and giving the team another guard to evaluate as camp approaches. Smith already has a connection to the organization from his time with the Santa Cruz Warriors, and his latest run in summer league only added to the case that he belongs on the radar. For a Warriors group that likes to keep competitive pressure on the back end of the roster, it is another name worth watching as preseason decisions start to take shape.
Smiths path is not as simple as showing up and claiming a spot, though. The real question is whether he can turn a strong summer into an argument for one of the teams two-way openings, and those chances can shift quickly depending on how Golden State sorts out other young guards such as LJ Cryer. There is a roster battle building here, and Smith is stepping into it at the right time, with enough familiarity and recent production to make the next few weeks matter. [Read more 🡒]