The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t had a single game in their 28 game season thus far where the entire team was healthy. They started out the year with Talen Horton-Tucker, Wayne Ellington, Trevor Ariza, and Kendrick Nunn all missing the season opener and then some with a variety of injuries. The former two players of those four have made their debuts and have played a decent amount, but Ariza and Nunn still remain out. Ariza had to have surgery on his ankle before preseason even began while Nunn has been dealing with a nagging bone bruise in his knee.
Trevor Ariza has been getting in some live work with the team with a practice involving the South Bay Lakers taking place today, while Frank Vogel last stated that he didn’t expect Kendrick Nunn to make his debut until some time in 2022. The Athletic’s Shams Charania recently reported on the probable debuts of these two players, offering some optimism to Lakers fans who have been waiting to see the two players get out there.
The Lakers are hopeful forward Trevor Ariza (ankle surgery) will return within the next one-to-two weeks and are hopeful guard Kendrick Nunn (bone bruise, knee) will return in January, sources said.
Although these two timelines are not surprising to hear given recent comments from Vogel, it’s nice to continue to hear optimism regarding their comebacks. The news regarding Nunn is especially satisfying as Vogel saying “2022” didn’t necessarily guarantee a January return although Nunn’s injury has set him back far longer than what was originally planned.
Frank Vogel has commented many times on Ariza, making it seem like he will be a heavy contributor for the Lakers once he gets ramped up. Vogel hasn’t said too much about Nunn, but that’s most likely due to the fact that his debut has not seemed close at all until now. Nunn will almost certainly be a contributor in the rotation given the fact that the Lakers signed him with the mid-level exception as opposed to the litany of veteran minimum contracts they gave out.
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