While the Los Angeles Lakers will have one of the oldest rosters in the league this season, they also were able to bring in some youth with the additions of Kendrick Nunn and Malik Monk as well as the re-signing of Talen Horton-Tucker.
Nunn and Horton-Tucker actually have known each other for quite some time as both are from Chicago and attended Simeon Career Academy High School.
During his introductory press conference with the Lakers, Nunn revealed that despite him being six years older, he has known Horton-Tucker for over a decade because of their basketball history.
“Yeah, we do. We do. Me and Talen go back maybe 10 years… 10 plus years,” Nunn said.
Nunn also opened up about that relationship is like and how excited they are to be playing together on the Lakers.
“I’ve been seeing Talen grow since he was a freshman in high school and his growth been just unbelievable and we’ve connected throughout the years. When we went our separate ways throughout college and things like that we would come back to Chicago and connect… maybe work out with each other and stay connected. When I signed with the Lakers, I told him I’m making that move and he was excited for me so we get to play alongside each other and create some havoc throughout the league.”
After the addition of Russell Westbrook, the Lakers have a crowded guard rotation so Nunn and Horton-Tucker could end up competing for playing time. Both have different skillsets though so should be valuable pieces for the Lakers this season, especially in the regular season when some of the older players could miss games due to injury or load management.
Even before Nunn joined the Lakers, he and Horton-Tucker were already on the same about improving their game together as video was recently released of the two working out together in Chicago last November.
Nunn ‘honored’ to play for Lakers
After signing with the Lakers, Nunn also spoke about how grateful he is to be playing for such a historic franchise.
“It means a lot. I’m honored to be in this position to put on an L.A. Lakers jersey and it’s a powerhouse franchise and it means everything. It means a lot. Putting on and represent this city. Obviously I’m a kid from Chicago, the south side of Chicago, but I love L.A. and I want to represent them as much [and] as well as I can.”
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