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Kendrick Nunn was unable to get on the court this season for the Los Angeles Lakers but plans to exercise his player option so he can give it a go next season.
After being a key signing for the Lakers in the offseason, Nunn suffered a bone bruise in the preseason and was never able to overcome the injury. Considering he just sat out an entire season, Nunn called it a “no-brainer” to opt in and take his $5.2 million contract for next season with the Lakers.
“Knowing I just took this entire year off, it’s a no-brainer for me to opt-in,” Nunn said on Monday.
Nunn averaged 15.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 67 starts with the Heat during his rookie season, landing on the All-Rookie team and finishing runner-up in Rookie of the Year voting. He averaged 14.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists during the 2020-21 season and was anticipated to be a key piece of the Lakers rotation.
With Nunn committing to next season, he’s one of four Lakers players who have deals for next season, the others being Anthony Davis, LeBron James and Talen Horton-Tucker. That list will eventually include Russell Westbrook as well, who is unlikely to decline his player option worth more than $47 million.
Nunn Attempted to Make Comeback During the Season
The injury was initially dubbed a sprained ankle, eventually developing into a bone bruise. Nunn appeared poised to return on a few occasions but wasn’t able to get over the hump.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve guys noticed that I’ve always been trying to ramp up to dive back into the season and there’s been times where – early January, I tried to ramp it up, get set back,” Nunn told reporters. “And then maybe like the beginning of March, tried to ramp it up again to get ready to play and then another setback. So, that was just telling me that it’s not healed yet and I’m not ready to play. So, I just had to accept that and just take a step back and truly sit back and let that thing heal.”
While the Lakers had lots of issues this year, Nunn’s absence certainly didn’t help. LA finished the season 33-49 and missed the postseason as the No. 11 seed in the Western Conference.
Nunn Adamant About Patience With Injury
Nunn was quiet during the season amid his injury struggles but sent a message to Lakers Nation after it was announced he had a setback.
“Lake Show I promise I want to be out there helping my team. Stay patient with me. This process has been just as frustrating for me. I’ll return as soon as I’m healthy! It’ll be worth the wait,” he tweeted on January 20.
Nunn admitted he sent that out because he was frustrated with some of the things he was hearing and wanted to set the record straight.
“I got a lot of feedback throughout the year, whether that’s fans or peers, asking when I’m going to be back, just trying to rush that process,” Nunn said. “And that’s one thing that you can’t and shouldn’t do. I can’t rush my body to heal faster than it naturally does, so I just had to accept that and be as patient as possible with it because it’s frustrating. It took longer than I expected (to heal) so I just had to be patient with it and let it heal. And I wanted to send out (a tweet to) the fans and everybody let them know I’m doing everything I can and I’m waiting to get back as soon as I can.”
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