Frank Vogel says Kendrick Nunn will play a ton of minutes upon return
The Los Angeles Lakers have dealt with plenty of injuries this season, but the only player who hasn’t played yet is Kendrick Nunn.
Nunn and Trevor Ariza were out for the first few months of the season due to lower-leg injuries, but Ariza recently returned.
Nunn has been ruled out with a knee injury since playing a few games in the preseason. His return should bolster the Lakers’ depth considering they signed him to a two-year deal worth $10 million, the most expensive signing this summer.
It’s still not clear when Nunn will return, but prior to Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings, head coach Frank Vogel gave some insight on what Nunn’s role could look like.
“I have an idea, but it still really is all to still be played out,” Vogel said. “Kendrick is going to get a ton of minutes when he gets back healthy. It’s going to be at the expense of somebody else, at least for the time being to see how he fits in our system alongside our stars, and all that stuff will play out.”
Nunn, 26, is primarily a score-first guard capable of handling the ball as a secondary creator. If he’s going to take someone else’s minutes, that’ll be a tough decision.
The guards L.A. uses are Russell Westbrook, Avery Bradley, Malik Monk, Talen Horton-Tucker and Austin Reaves. Wayne Ellington hasn’t been in the rotation lately.
All five of them have a reason to stay: Westbrook is the star. Bradley is the key perimeter defender. Monk has been on fire as of late. Horton-Tucker is the team’s highly paid young star. Reaves is a high-IQ glue guy who meshes well with the stars.
However this plays out, Vogel has to make a difficult choice.
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