Last summer, one of the most exciting offseason acquisitions the Los Angeles Lakers made was the signing of guard Kendrick Nunn.
Nunn entered the league as an undrafted free agent and enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign with the Miami Heat in the 2019-20 season. He started all 67 games he played in as a rookie that season.
Following a solid 2020-21 campaign, Nunn opted to join the Lakers as a free agent. However, he has yet to play a game with his new team. He was diagnosed with a bone bruise in his right knee in October 2021, and he has yet to suit up since.
In a recent social media message, Nunn slammed a report that indicated that his ramp up process from the injury has been “slower than anticipated.”
“He’s been around the facility shooting and working out,” Lakers insider Jovan Buha recently reported. “It’s been a slower than anticipated ramp-up. They’ve got Pat (Patrick 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.”
You learn new things about yourself everyday on social media 😂 that’s why I barely be on here 🤫🤫 https://t.co/1MA8N5Ux1N
— Kendrick Nunn (@nunnbetter_) September 3, 2022
Though Nunn seems perturbed by what he clearly sees as a nonfactual report, there is no doubt that his recovery has hit multiple setbacks over the last year. In fact, after the initial injury took place, he was set to be re-evaluated after a few weeks.
However, more than a month later, then-head coach Frank Vogel said that Nunn had been ruled out for at least the month of December.
Then, in mid-January, Nunn suffered yet another setback in his rehab process. Though there had previously been hope that Nunn would make his season debut prior to the February trade deadline, that benchmark was also missed.
He ultimately missed the entire season due to the knee injury.
For that reason, most Lakers fans are likely not expecting Nunn to be a major contributor in the upcoming season. In fact, it’s quite possible that many Lakers fans have forgotten that Nunn is even on the roster.
Nunn is certainly frustrated by what has taken place over the last 11 months, and it makes sense why he would lash out at something he sees as misinformation.
Due to Nunn’s response, it is hard to know what the current status of his injury is. Hopefully, his recovery is going according to plan.
However, given the issues the injury has already caused the 27-year-old guard, nothing would come as much of a shock at this point.
