“I obviously don’t know if they were or weren’t right internally but that was my feel I had,” Vincent. “There were moments of attack, you get the right matchup and you attack. Jimmy leading the way with his paint touches and Bam being aggressive and keeping them out of transition. That was a huge one for us. If we can get you into the half court, we have a chance. “I think last year, they were better defensively when we lost to them in the East Finals. This past year, something didn’t seem as right whether it was their rotations or connectivity, whatever the case may be. I think any bit of weakness we saw, we jumped on it.” -via Booth Newspapers / July 14, 2023

The Heat’s final offer to Vincent was a four-year deal worth about $34 million ($8.5 million per season), according to a league source. Vincent ended up taking the Lakers’ three-year offer worth $33 million ($11 million per season). The fact Florida has no state income tax helped close the gap between the two offers, but it wasn’t enough to keep Vincent in Miami. And with the Heat entering free agency already deep into the luxury tax, even just adding $2 million to Vincent’s salary for this upcoming season would have added more than $5 million to the team’s tax bill based on Miami’s current salary cap situation. “It was very difficult,” Vincent said of leaving the Heat during his appearance on “The Old Man and the Three” podcast. “The relationships that I have with those guys are, to me, lifelong. Even the guys that I played with, to the staff, to the front office. I got to know all of them very well and closely. So it wasn’t an easy decision. It was a huge draw to come back, for sure. But it had to make sense for me and my family. I couldn’t just make a decision. -via Miami Herald / July 14, 2023

Gabe Vincent: “But this is no love lost. I got nothing but love for those guys over there. The continuity piece was playing a major role and obviously the taxes play a major role. You think they’ll get close enough and let’s try to make it work. But it’s business for them. And it was kind of tough because they could have done it, but it would have been a big salary cap tax. I understand that from the business side. If I could understand that, I know they understand it well. Maybe things will align down the road. Until then, you got to try to get the Lake Show a ring.” -via Miami Herald / July 14, 2023