The New York Knicks will enter the upcoming NBA season as the defending champions after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals last campaign. That should arguably translate to players seizing any opportunity to join the Knicks in the current offseason.

However, that does not appear to have rung true with respect to this former Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers veteran, who as per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, ended up turning down the chance.

“The Stein Line has learned that former Heat, Lakers and Hawks guard Gabe Vincent could have signed with the Knicks as well to join the wing battle but elected to wait for a more sure-fire opportunity,” they wrote.

Vincent started last season with the Lakers, the franchise he signed for after spending the first four seasons of his career at the Heat. However, he ended up being traded by LA to Atlanta in exchange of Luke Kennard, with the Lakers also sending a future second-round pick to the Hawks.

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The trade meant that he ended up playing for two teams in the 2025-26 campaign, although none of his seven starts came for Atlanta. Instead, he proved useful off the bench, contributing 3.9 points, 1.6 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game across 24 appearances.

The 29-year-old will undoubtedly be looking to reprise his NBA career at a new teambut currently remains an unrestricted free agent after his three-year deal, which he signed with the Lakers, came to an end. And while most veterans would jump at the chance to sign with a loaded Knicks who are also the current champions, Vincent is reportedly holding out for a better opportunity.

As things stand, it is unclear whether he will end up receiving one, although at the age of 30, Vincent will undoubtedly believe that he still has a number of good seasons left in him, as far as the NBA is concerned.