Tag: Kendrick Nunn

Darvin Ham says Kendrick Nunn ‘looks great’ during workouts

Kendrick Nunn may not be scrimmaging with his teammates, but Lakers coach Darvin Ham likes what he’s been seeing from him.

One of the more disappointing things that happened to the Los Angeles Lakers last season was guard Kendrick Nunn not playing in the regular season because of a bone bruise in his knee.

Nunn was signed for $10.3 million over two years last summer, and it was thought he would be a nice bargain and a big help for the team.

Although he has ramped up his individual workouts this summer, that process has been going slower than expected, and he still hasn’t played five-on-five yet.

Still, new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham said Nunn has been doing well during such workouts.

If Nunn has made a full recovery by the start of training camp, it would go a long way in helping the team be competitive again this season.

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Kendrick Nunn’s injury recovery has been slower than expected

After missing all of the 2021-22 season due to a bone bruise in his knee, Kendrick Nunn hasn’t progressed as fast as anticipated.

Last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers signed young guard Kendrick Nunn for just $10.25 million over two years, and he was thought to be one of the great free agent bargains of the offseason.

Alas, he didn’t play at all in the regular season because of a bone bruise in his knee that was slow to heal.

Nunn declared himself fully recovered and healthy earlier this summer, and the team has tried to ramp up his basketball activities, but progress has been slower than expected.

Via Hoops Hype:

“He’s been around the facility shooting and working out,” Jovan Buha from The Athletic told Michael Scotto. “It’s been a slower than anticipated ramp-up. They’ve got Pat (Beverley), so he’s the best addition of the offseason, but there’s a chance Nunn is the best free agent addition they make getting him back. He’s a guy they spent the taxpayer mid-level exception on last season. He was pretty solid during his first couple of years in Miami as a combo guard. He’s someone who could develop into the sixth man for this team.”

In early August, it was reported Nunn had not yet participated in five-on-five drills.

This doesn’t necessarily mean Nunn will not be ready for the start of training camp, but it is a reason for at least a little bit of concern.

Kendrick Nunn is working out but not doing five-on-five drills yet

Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn is still working his way back from the bone bruise that torpedoed his 2021-22 season.

This past season, Kendrick Nunn didn’t see the court at all during the regular season because of a bone bruise in his knee.

The Los Angeles Lakers signed him last summer using their taxpayer mid-level exception, and he was expected to give them a significant lift off the bench.

Nunn recently said he feels 100% healthy, so some fans hold the same expectation for the 2022-23 season. However, although the guard is putting in work, he still has a way to go before he is cleared for full basketball activities.

Via The Athletic:

“Nunn recently spoke with Spectrum SportsNet about his health and said he feels 100 percent,” The Athletic’s Jovan Buha wrote. “He has been training with the younger Lakers – (Austin) Reaves, (Stanley) 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.”

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Assuming Nunn is good to go before the start of training camp, he could be a great help to the Purple and Gold this season.

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Don’t sleep on Kendrick Nunn’s potential impact on the Lakers

When fans express a pessimistic outlook on the Lakers this coming season, they seem to forget that Kendrick Nunn is a very good player.

If the Los Angeles Lakers start the upcoming season with the exact roster they have right now, many fans won’t feel good about the team’s potential.

Many think the current team is a play-in team or, even worse, bound for another lottery season.

Such pessimism is perfectly understandable from a visceral standpoint. The Lakers are coming off the most disappointing season in franchise history, as they were expected to contend for the NBA championship but instead missed the playoffs.

Yes, poor roster construction was a big culprit, but so were injuries.

LeBron James played in just 56 games due to multiple injuries and ailments, and Anthony Davis appeared in just 40 contests because of a sprained MCL and sprained foot.

Then there was Kendrick Nunn, who didn’t play in even one regular season contest because of a stubborn bone bruise.

He is apparently 100 percent healthy now, and it’s easy to forget how good a player he was previously with the Miami Heat.

A healthy Nunn could make a significant difference in the Lakers’ fortunes this coming season. Is he going to be an All-Star? Probably not, but he can really help.

Kendrick Nunn says he’s fully healthy after missing 2021-22 season

Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn says he has fully recovered from a bone bruise that kept him out of the entire 2021-22 season.

When the Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Kendrick Nunn last summer using their taxpayer mid-level exception, many expected him to help them significantly while giving great value relative to his $5 million contract.

But because of a bone bruise, he didn’t appear in a single regular season game.

Nunn opted into the second and final year of his contract, which will keep him in L.A. this coming season, but naturally, there are questions about whether he will return to form.

However, in a recent interview with Chris McGee of Los Angeles-based Spectrum SportsNet, Nunn says he’s now fully healthy.

“It’s been a while. It’s been a while since I’ve felt this good. Maybe since I was playing back in the last season I was playing.”

It may be easy to forget how much of an excellent player Nunn was prior to his injury.

During the 2020-21 season, he averaged 14.6 points in 29.5 minutes a game for the Miami Heat while shooting 48.5 percent overall and 38.1 percent from 3-point range.

Nunn is a very efficient scorer from all three levels, and he is also an adept ball-handler, both in the halfcourt and in transition.

If he’s the same player he was back then, he could help improve the Lakers’ fortunes this coming season.

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Kendrick Nunn opts into last year of contract, will stay with Lakers

Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn has chosen to opt into the remaining year of his contract to stay with the Lakers.

Amidst all the bad news and certainly surrounding the Los Angeles Lakers these days, there was a piece of good news for them on Tuesday.

Guard Kendrick Nunn reportedly opted into the final year of his contract, and he will thus remain with the team next season.

Of course, there is always the chance the Lakers package him in a trade in order to receive help at another position, such as the wing or center spot.

But for now, he will stay with the Purple and Gold.

Nunn signed for the taxpayer mid-level exception last summer, and it was seen as a steal for L.A. Unfortunately, he appeared in nary a regular season contest, as he suffered a bone bruise in his knee that lasted all year.

If Nunn isn’t traded, he can be an instrumental part in helping the Lakers become competitive again. Last season, for the Miami Heat, he averaged 14.6 points per game while shooting 48.5 percent overall from the field and 38.1 percent from 3-point range.

Nunn is a very efficient finisher at or near the rim, and he can also get buckets from mid-range.

Although he is not a true facilitator, he can handle the ball and push the pace in the open court. People around the league also feel he can help the Lakers on the defensive end.

Even better, Nunn is just 26 years of age (he’ll turn 27 in August), which means he can give the team some of the youthful energy it sorely lacks.

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Will Kendrick Nunn return to the Lakers next season?

There is a report on whether Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn will pick up or decline his player option for the 2022-23 NBA season.

Last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Kendrick Nunn to a two-year contract worth $10.3 million, and it was seen as one of the better bargains around the NBA and a boon for the team.

Alas, Nunn hasn’t played in a single regular season game this year due to injury.

With the roster seemingly set for an overhaul once the schedule ends, there is some good news about how it may look for next season, and it surrounds whether Nunn will pick up his player option for the 2022-23 campaign.

Per Lakers Daily:

“And Nunn is expected to pick up his $5.25 million player option for next season, sources said, after not appearing in a game this year,” Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report wrote.

If Nunn is indeed a Laker next season, he could be a key contributor if he makes a full recovery from the bone bruise that has sidelined him for months and returns to the same player he was last year for the Miami Heat.

He is a young, energetic guard who can handle the ball, attack in transition, score both at the rim and from 3-point land efficiently and even play defense.

If Russell Westbrook moves on, as expected, Nunn could very well be the Lakers’ new starting point guard on opening night this October.

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Lakers guard Kendrick Nunn expected to miss rest of season

Kendrick Nunn, who was expected to be a key contributor to the Lakers this season, will apparently be shut down for the rest of the year.

When the Los Angeles Lakers signed guard Kendrick Nunn last offseason to a bargain deal at two years and $10.3 million, it was seen as one of the better acquisitions of the summer, both in terms of price and impact.

But he suffered a bone bruise prior to the start of the regular season, and five months later, it apparently still hasn’t healed enough to allow him to play.

During L.A.’s blowout loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, TNT’s Chris Haynes reported that although Nunn is scheduled to soon undergo an MRI to examine the status of his injury, he is not expected to return at any point this season.

The 26-year-old played briefly during the exhibition season, but he has appeared in nary a regular season contest.

In his two prior seasons with the Miami Heat, he was a revelation, as he went from undrafted to finishing second in the 2020 NBA Rookie of the Year balloting.

Last year, he averaged 14.6 points in 29.5 minutes per game while shooting 38.1 percent from 3-point range, 58.3 percent on 2-point shots and 48.5 percent overall.

Nunn can opt in to next season, the final year of his contract, and remain with the Lakers, and if he does so, it would be a big help for a team that needs to be revamped if it has any hope of returning to championship contention.

His ability to handle the ball, attack in transition, score efficiently at the rim and hit from the outside would help take the load off an aging LeBron James.

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Lakers’ Kendrick Nunn to return in late March

The Los Angeles Lakers are expecting Kendrick Nunn (bone bruise) to return in late March.

It’s past the midway point of the 2022 regular season and the Los Angeles Lakers still have not seen Kendrick Nunn take the floor during the regular season.

The Lakers signed Nunn to a two-year deal worth $10 million (the full MLE) this summer, so L.A. expected him to play a major role on the team because he was their biggest free agent splash not already on the roster (Talen Horton-Tucker).

But Nunn has not played due to a bone bruise that apparently has not healed the way the Lakers would’ve hoped.

His debut date keeps getting postponed because his knee doesn’t respond well to more intense individual workouts, and now there is a new timetable for his return.

Rob Pelinka, Lakers VP of basketball operations, said during a conference call Thursday the team is expecting him to return in late March, via Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times:

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Report: No team is biting on Lakers’ offer of Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and 2027 first-round pick

The Los Angeles Lakers aren’t getting any luck so far with this trade package.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in dire need of upgrades to the roster after starting way short of expectations halfway through the season.

Missing Anthony Davis for over 17 straight games isn’t going to help, but the Lakers still have not played with enough energy and effort as they should.

The Lakers don’t have many viable paths to acquiring strong talent because Russell Westbrook’s acquisition this summer cost $44 million this season, with a looming $47 million player option for next year.

Los Angeles’ best potential trade package — at least financially — comprises Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn and the 2027 first-round pick.

However, no team wants that offer just yet, according to Kevin O’Conner of The Ringer:

Having said that, the Lakers, who are sitting at 23-24 and in eighth place in the West, need to shake up this roster. They’re calling teams offering a future first, Kendrick Nunn, and Talen Horton-Tucker, who has underwhelmed this season, and no one is biting yet. Stein says they offered that package to Detroit for Jerami Grant. The Lakers’ problem is THT just isn’t valued highly enough by teams and that 2027 pick is a long time from conveying.

The key word here is “yet.” The trade deadline is still a few weeks away, so teams can change their minds down the line if no other suitable offer is made.

The Lakers exited the offseason thinking everything will turn out smooth with the roster construction, but that’s been far from reality more than halfway through the year.

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