Kendrick Nunn’s first season with the Los Angeles Lakers turned into a nightmare as he never played a game due to injuries. He was diagnosed with a bone bruise in October and was supposed to come back in a few weeks, but his return kept getting delayed, and he ultimately never suited up for them last season.
He is back and healthy now, though, which is a great sign for the Lakers, who had given him a 2-year, $10 million deal last summer. Nunn also seems intent on showing just why they signed him last season, as he has impressed in training camp.
Darvin Ham Heaps Praise On Kendrick Nunn
He has looked so good, that new head coach Darvin Ham even has him in his early season starting 5. Nunn joins LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and Damian Jones on there, and it is great to see him turn things around so quickly. Ham went on to heap further praise on Nunn when asked how he has looked so far at training camp.
“Phenomenal. He had a really, really good day today. He’s been great. He’s been great. Shooting the ball well, making the right reads, defending. Really had a good defensive day as well as an offensive day today. So he’s doing really, really well.”
Ham later went on to speak on how Nunn complements the stars on the team.
“With Kendrick, you got a really big-time catch-and-shoot player, also a player that can play pick-and-roll, also a player that can score at all three levels. He can score at the rim, he can score in the mid-range, he can score threes, as I mentioned before. He’s like a little water bug defensively. He can squeeze through pick-and-rolls, he can avoid screens, he can chase, he’s athletic, so he gets good contests on shots.”
That is high praise, and he really seems to have made a great impression on Ham. This is a big season for the Lakers and for Nunn personally, too, as he is a free agent next summer. We often see players ball out when there’s potentially a big payday on the line, and it might just happen with Nunn.
As for the stars on the team, Anthony Davis says their Big 3 of himself, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook are going to be aggressive offensively. He added that it would open up the floor for everybody else, and that would help guys like Nunn have a lot of success.
