It’s possible we’ve seen the last of Kendrick Nunn in a Miami Heat uniform.
On the other end of the Miami Heat bench sits Kendrick Nunn, who finished as runner up for the 2019-2020 Rookie of the Year award behind Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.
His first season in the NBA has been nothing short of a roller coaster. Nunn started all 67 of his regular season appearances for the Heat and finished his rookie campaign averaging 15.3 points and 3.3 assists per game, while shooting 44 percent from the field and 35 percent from three.
A positive COVID-19 test delayed his arrival in Orlando for the NBA’s restart, but not by much. Nunn made it into the bubble and out of quarantine in time for Miami’s third scrimmage game ahead of the official restart. But at that point, his starting job was all but lost.
Now, Nunn sits watching the closing minutes of the Heat’s playoff games when just six months ago he was apart of their closing lineup. The rookie point guard didn’t saw hardly any time on the floor for their first round series against the Indiana Pacers, playing only in the final game.
Against Milwaukee, head coach Erik Spoestra was subbing him in relatively early, and granting him a longer leash and span of minutes on the floor. But in this series against the Celtics, Nunn has been all but absent, playing a total of 22 minutes over the four games.
Given that his salary for the 2021-2022 season is non-guaranteed, it’s quite possible that we’ve seen the last of Kendrick Nunn in a Miami Heat jersey. Don’t be surprised if he continues to ride the bench for the rest of this series, and potentially the NBA Finals as well.