With the 2018-19 NBA season coming to a close, the Los Angeles Lakers face an uncertain future after president of basketball operations Magic Johnson resigned.
As owner Jeanie Buss searches for a new president of basketball operations, there remains questions about head coach Luke Walton as well.
To summarize Year 1 with LeBron James and the young core, major injuries and Anthony Davis trade rumors completely derailed any chance of making the playoffs.
With the Lakers missing 212 games due to injury, they have reportedly fired head athletic trainer Marco Nunez, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
The Lakers fired athletic trainer Marco Nuñez on Weds, sources told ESPN. Nuñez joined LAL as an asst trainer in 08-09 & ascended to the head position in ‘16, succeeding Gary Vitti. LAL players had missed 212 games due to injury in ‘18-19, 9th most in the NBA, per Spotrac
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 10, 2019
Following the Christmas Day win over the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers were fourth in the Western Conference. However, James and Rajon Rondo both missed significant time as Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, and Lonzo Ball eventually followed.
If the Lakers were relatively healthy, they would have ended their five-year playoff drought and been a team no one wanted to face. With the Lakers parting ways with Nunez, it will be interesting to see who they hire to address a major concern the last couple of seasons.
