After the L.A. Lakers struggled to solidify their point-guard position for a number of years, they now have two starting-worthy point-guards going into the 2023-24 regular season in D’Angelo Russell and newly acquired, Gabe Vincent.

According to NBA writer Mark Medina, while Russell has the advantage of keeping his starting spot, should he not perform on a consistent basis, Vincent could be ready to take over.

L.A. Lakers news – Point-Guard position

With just over a month until NBA training camp begins, we are still no closer to working out who the starting point-guard will be for the L.A. Lakers as they get set to open the 2023-24 regular season against the reigning champions, Denver Nuggets.

The point-guard spot has been a particular area of positional need for the Purple and Gold, who have lacked depth in that area for a number of years. However, in free-agency, they opted to re-sign D’Angelo Russell to a two-year, $37 million contract, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Furthermore, they ensured depth in the position by inking Gabe Vincent, formerly of the Miami Heat, to a three-year, $33 million deal according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The 27-year-old was the starting point-guard for the Heat during their deep 2023 playoff run where they made the NBA finals.

With two starting-caliber guards on the roster, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham faces the tough decision on who to start, with Jovan Buha of The Athletic reporting that while at moment Russell is the “early favourite”, Vincent could well steal the spot if he impresses in training camp.

Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley believes Vincent is a better fit with 19x All-Star, LeBron James, and instead proposes D’Lo to serve the as a ‘dynamic’ sixth man, suggesting he would be more efficient in that role as he would likely be able to focus more on his ‘on-ball attacks’.

Whether Darvin Harm opts to start Russell or Vincent, though, remains to be seen.

Is D’Angelo Russell’s starting spot at risk?

Medina believes that D’Angelo Russell will be the Lakers’ starting point-guard to start the 2023-24 regular season, but should he show any inconsistency in his play throughout the year, then his spot may be at risk with Gabe Vincent waiting in the wings for his opportunity.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT the journalist said...

How do D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent compare?

The Lakers have certainly made upgrades at the point-guard position and if their respective numbers are anything to go by, it is no surprise that both Russell and Vincent are in contention for the starting line-up spot.

Last season, Russell, who returned to the Lakers after a trade at the February deadline from the Minnesota Timberwolves averaged 17.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 71 regular season games, per Statmuse. The 2019 All-Star shot 46.9% from the field and 39.6% from the three-point line.

In comparison, Vincent averaged 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists, shooting 40.2% from the field and 33.4% from behind the line.

However, it was his performances in the playoffs which earned him his contract from the Lakers. In his 22 playoff games for the Miami Heat, he averaged 12.7 points and 3.5 assists on an improved 37.8% from beyond the line, including a play-off career-high 29 points in the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Vincent’s 51 made three-pointers in the playoffs were the third most ever by a Miami Heat player.

Undoubtedly, Darvin Ham faces a tough decision on who to start on opening night, but with the options available to him in D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent, there is the argument that he can’t really go wrong.