Report: Lakers' Vincent set to return Sunday after 3 months out

Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent is expected to play Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets after missing over three months following knee surgery, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania.

Vincent's last appearance for L.A. on Dec. 20 was just his fifth game of the season. The 27-year-old signed a three-year, $33-million contract with the Lakers as a free agent and played in their first four games, averaging six points, three assists, and 1.5 steals in 28.4 minutes. But he then missed 23 contests over the next two months due to swelling in his left knee.

If healthy, the former Miami Heat ball-handler would likely have an important role in the Lakers' guard rotation behind starters D'Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves. Vincent registered 7.6 points, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 boards per game over four years in Miami but was especially effective in the team's run to last season's NBA Finals, scoring 12.7 points with 3.5 assists per contest on 40.2/37.8/88.2 shooting splits through 22 postseason appearances.

The Lakers have won five straight, including victories against the Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, and Milwaukee Bucks, as Darvin Ham's squad jockeys for a better play-in seed with eight games to play. An outright playoff berth isn't mathematically impossible, either, as LeBron James and Co. can still swap places with the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, or Dallas Mavericks inside the top six. However, that would also require vaulting the seventh-place Phoenix Suns and eighth-place Sacramento Kings.