The Los Angeles Lakers have made a number of additions this offseason, but the biggest one might be a player who was already on the roster last season. Point guard Kendrick Nunn missed all of last year with a bone bruise in his knee after signing a two-year deal with the Lakers in 2021.
Nunn came in with relatively high expectations to play a big role for the Lakers after being an important piece for the Miami Heat in his first two seasons in the league. Now, after a lost first season in L.A., Nunn is looking to prove that the Lakers didn’t make a mistake in bringing him in.
The good news is that Nunn recently revealed that he is 100% healthy now. But according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Nunn has yet to resume five-on-five activities just yet:
Nunn recently spoke with Spectrum SportsNet about his health and said he feels 100 percent. He has been training with the younger Lakers – Reaves, Johnson, Wenyen Gabriel, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Mason Jones – during their Monday through Thursday offseason workouts. He hasn’t resumed five-on-five play yet, which is the next big hurdle. It seems like he should be ready to go by the start of training camp, but recovery isn’t always linear.
After losing an entire season to injury, many are anxious to see what Nunn can bring to the Lakers, including Nunn himself. While it is great to hear that the young guard is healthy, the fact that he has yet to partake in full-court, five-on-five play just yet does bring some concern.
The lack of play would seem to suggest that Nunn isn’t quite ready to go just yet, but as Buha noted, the Lakers guard should be ready to by training camp, which is the most important thing. Nunn also recently expressed a desire to play in a Drew League game, so perhaps he is close to returning to full-court action.
But considering how last year went for Nunn, it can be forgiven if many would prefer to take the wait and see approach.
The potential for Nunn is there as he is an above-average perimeter defender who also averaged 15 points while shooting over 36% from 3-point range in his two seasons in Miami. That type of player is exactly what the Lakers need everyone is undoubtedly hoping that he will show that on the court this season.
Nunn says Lakers fans can expect consistency from him this season
For his part, Nunn definitely sounds ready to deliver on his potential for the Lakers this season. And one thing Nunn says to expect from him is consistency on the court.
Nunn told fans to expect great effort on both ends of the court every night from him and the fans would definitely love to see that and should he make good on that potential, the Lakers will benefit greatly.
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