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The Lakers signed guard Kendrick Nunn this past offseason for the mini-midlevel exception, worth two years and $10.25 million. The former Miami Heat guard turned down significantly more money to put on the purple and gold, taking less than half of his expected salary, according to John Hollinger’s projected salary based on the player’s data.
That act alone reflects Nunn’s willingness to sacrifice to win, and he said as much — and more — when asked about why he did so:
“Just that chance to go out there and win a ring. A good chance, a great chance to win a ring. I wanted to be in that position again and also just to help my teammates and learn from them. I look at the roster around and I’m one of the younger guys, so I’m going to be a sponge to a lot of these guys in the locker room and just continue to grow and develop my game as well.”
To understand how Nunn’s skills fit in on this team, I studied the film and analyzed the data to determine what he adds to this roster:
Nunn’s offensive abilities alone will make him a key contributor for this Lakers roster, but if he can shore up his defensive deficiencies as well with the help of head coach Frank Vogel and the coaching staff, he may be the steal of the summer.
Dr. Rajpal Brar, DPT has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, and runs his own in-person and online sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West LA and Valencia, CA in which he further combines his movement expertise and fitness training. He also works at a hospital — giving him experience with patients in the immediate healthcare setting and neurological patients (post stroke, post brain injury) — and has been practicing for 4 years. Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC), has a background in youth basketball coaching and analyzes the Lakers from a medical and skills perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and on his own YouTube Channel. You can follow him on Twitter at @3cbPerformance.