Well Cranjis can’t figure out rotations apparently that don’t suck according to him so guess we should just not give a crap and not watch the games. LOL and people bag on Vogel for his lack of rotational acumen with the garbage “available” he had to work with last year.
Do it Russ … be that guy consistently again, stop with the amateurish brain farts, telegraphed passes and bad turnovers and humor your coaching staff by playing the kind of defense they’re going to expect out of you on and off ball and everyone else, especially with your still exceptional athleticism. or ? ?
He will start him if his attitude is good. If he is the same old Russ in training camp and pre-season there is no reason to start him. Russ lost all his grace period last season and now has to earn it. I'm going to take Ham at his word till he proves otherwise.
I don’t think Russ has ever had a bad attitude internally with his teammates or coaching staff. So I’m not sure why people have this view of him as the same old Russ with a bad attitude?
Because someone leaked it from inside in defense of Vogel and the staff (guessing Handy because he could get a job immediately anywhere) when they were being scapegoated and under Rambis’s meddling intrusions and statements. Pushback on things from him early in camp that staff wanted to see and then the reports of not liking the repeated calling outs for the same repeated s*** in the film sessions to name a couple things behind scenes plus the entitled he had earned being in closing lineups when his play at the time was anything but worthy of it, and never anything his fault throw everyone under the bus especially the coach exit interview. It’s over now as Slick says and I hope his contract year motivates him to step up and do a hell of a lot better basketball wise this season including attitude about being asked to do not his favorite things out there. No one is saying with teammates. Then again he didn’t have Beverley riding his a** last year additionally either. Keeping a wait and see attitude here.
I think we can make an equal if not greater case of people saying that Russ was a professional throughout his tenure last year. From Reaves, to AD and Lebron, to Rob and Jeanie and Vogel himself. I feel like you are taking reports and putting a subjective spin on them with your opinion of Russ. But back to Nunn, I think he has a good chance as anyone to start.
Honestly I don't see how anyone could have watched his body language while he played last year and not consider it coming from a bad attitude. A player doesn't have to be combative to show attitude. He didn't buy into the defensive schemes and showed practically no effort. Stat padding was another obvious thing. To me those things stem from bad attitudes. I would go even further and say his attitude was terrible. To me that really stood out as a major reason we were so hard to watch. A player like Nunn that gives it all when healthy, Reaves, even Beverly are much better starter candidates. Now if Russ can get with Ham and buy in, show he is willing to be a team guy then the narrative changes.
Based off that criteria, I think LeBron was potentially worse in this regard than Westbrook - he ignored defensive schemes, never got back on defence, stat padded and didn’t adhere to running any offensive plays. AD wasn’t anything to phone home about in this regard either. It’s one of the major reasons we sucked last year, the leaders of our team just didn’t put the effort in and that’s why everyone kept talking about effort all year.
so you agree that russ's attitude was bad then? because i agree that lebron and AD (to a lesser extent, he tried to play the right way when he returned from the first injury, imo) also showed poor effort and low accountability. but russ was right there leading whatever's the opposite of the charge.
I’m not sure that I relate attitude and effort that way. But if that’s the criteria I think it’s fair to say as a ball club we scored very low in this regard. I was quite surprised with Russ on this front, I think it’s a really valid criticism on him last year because I’ve never seem him kind of give up like that. At every point, OKC tanking after Durant, OKC with George, Houston, Washington - Russ was considered the leader by example in each situation. Last year he was anything but a leader in this regard. LeBron in my opinion was even worse, to me it was a really disappointing season playing for himself. But I don’t think his attitude was poor. Even at the end of the season on the bench he was cheering and high 5’ing LeBron, AD and the young guys.
From Bleacher Report. Nothing new really but same old question. https://www.silverscreenandroll.com...-injury-klutch-contract-lakers-season-preview FILED UNDER: LAKERS ANALYSIS Will Kendrick Nunn show up this season? There hasn’t been clarity about whether or not Kendrick Nunn has participated in 5-on-5 workouts or if he’ll be ready to go by training camp, so his status this season is still very much up in the air. By Nicole Ganglani@nicoleganglani Sep 15, 2022, 8:24am PDT 14 Comments / 14 New ethics statement. Share this story Share this on Facebook (opens in new window) Share this on Twitter (opens in new window) SHAREAll sharing options Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images Welcome to our Lakers Season Preview Series! For the next several weeks, we’ll be writing columns every weekday, breaking down the biggest questions we have about every player the Lakers added this offseason. Today, we take a look at Kendrick Nunn. It has been 11 months since Kendrick Nunn was diagnosed with a bone bruise injury and until today, there is still uncertainty about his return. Nunn, who the Lakers signed with most of their taxpayer midlevel exception last summer, was severely missed last season as he spent all 82 games on the bench wearing street clothes. The 27-year-old went from being a promising role player to the receiving end of jokes, particularly for Lakers fans (me included), who were frustrated due to his absence. And for as much as I want to talk about how Nunn can help the Lakers this season, the biggest question for him heading into this year is whether he will be in uniform. Because as of writing, there haven’t been many signs of optimism for Nunn’s return except for the fact that Darvin Ham stated last week that he looked great in individual workouts. There hasn’t been clarity about whether he’s participated in 5-on-5 workouts or if he’ll be ready to go by training camp, so Nunn’s status this season is still very much up in the air. But if we would like to take Nunn’s sacred word, he said in July that he feels 100% and is back to playing at a high level. If the former Miami Heat guard has indeed recovered from what seems to be the worst bone bruise in NBA history, then that’s a significant advantage for the Lakers this season. Nunn’s skillset fits perfectly alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook and is what this current Lakers roster desperately needs. What is his best-case scenario? The best-case scenario for Nunn this season is if he shows up on the court and looks 100% healthy(low expectations, I know). Given how serious his injury was last year, it’s fair to question whether Nunn will be in top form or not. Aside from his status, Nunn has the potential to be the best role player on this current roster. According to bball-index.com, the guard’s top talents are finishing at the rim (where he ranks A+), perimeter shooting (A+), floaters and midrange pull-ups (A-) and playmaking (B+). He’s an energetic three-level scorer who provides instant offense, off-ball movement, 3-point shooting, and some creation chops. As we’ve learned from last season’s mistakes, Nunn’s skillset is exactly what James and Westbrook must be surrounded by to maximize their own playmaking abilities. Putting last season aside, Nunn’s first and second years in the league with the Miami Heat were very productive. In his rookie year (when he finished top three in Rookie of the Year votes) he started 67 games and averaged 15.3 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 43.9% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. He was an integral role player under Erik Spoelstra and if he repeats his success in Los Angeles, there’s a good chance that his comeback turns out to be the Lakers’ biggest addition this summer. What is his worst-case outcome? The worst-case outcome for Nunn is if he remains sidelined with the same injury next season. If Nunn doesn’t show up on the court, then he’ll be considered one of the worst signings in franchise history. He’ll be a waste of a total of about $10 million of cap space (over two seasons) and will probably have a horrible reputation amongst the Lakers fanbase. However, if Nunn does indeed suit up this season, another unfortunate outcome is if he doesn’t get back to 100% or meet the expectations set for him. As the best career 3-point shooter in this current Lakers team, Nunn is an automatic lock for a rotation spot (quite possibly even for a starting role) but if his shooting doesn’t live up to the hype and his defense doesn’t hold up, he’ll likely be benched — which is also unfortunate for him because he’s playing for a contract next season. Another unfavorable outcome for Nunn is if his flawed defense outweighs his offense, which could be a scenario in the playoffs when coaches tend to trust defensive-minded guards more. Two seasons ago, the combo guard had the worst defensive RAPTOR (-1.3) among Heat players who logged at least 1,000 minutes; the team was 2.9 points per 100 possessions worse on defense when he was on the floor. If Nunn’s defense doesn’t improve, there’s a potential scenario where Austin Reaves, Patrick Beverley, or Lonnie Walker IV take his minutes. What is his most likely role? The most likely role for Nunn is to provide offensive versatility and spacing to the team. His offensive bag is unique because he does more than just catch and shoot. According to Synergy, the 6’2 guard’s most common play type two seasons ago was pick-and-roll, and he ranked 88th percentile in efficiency. He’ll likely be tasked to run pick-and-rolls with the Lakers bigs and wings as well as station on the perimeter under Ham’s 4-out, 1-in offense. Speaking of the 3-point line, Nunn converted 42.1% of his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts and 44.2% of his wide-open ones two seasons ago, so he’s one guy opposing defense cannot dare to leave wide open. According to Cleaning the Glass, Nunn’s 3-point percentage ranked in the 65th percentile among guards while his mid-range jumper ranked 67th. He currently has bragging rights as the Lakers’ best perimeter shooter and it won’t be a shocker if he’s part of the starting lineup on opening night. Aside from his prolific shooting, Nunn will be depended on to get out in transition and create his own shot in the perimeter and midrange. He also has the speed and ability to get to the rim in the half court, where he converted 69% of his attempts and ranked 89th percentile amongst combo guards two seasons ago. In retrospect, the idea of Kendrick Nunn in this Lakers roster is certainly promising, but all of this remains moot until he’s 100% ready to go. For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.
If he has indeed been 100% since July and he still isn’t playing 5 on 5, then WTH. He or his people should have made some kind of progress statement by now.
