Kendrick Nunn’s departure from the Miami Heat was a situation that didn’t sit well with Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum, who indicated that a double standard exists with respect to teams and fans.
Speaking to Adrian Wojnarowski on “The Woj Pod” podcast, McCollum cited (at the 15:45 mark) how the Heat pulled their qualifying offer from Nunn, who subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“The Kendrick Nunn situation,” McCollum said. “He was gonna be a free agent. They basically waited until the money dried up, right? You correct me if I’m wrong. Have you (Wojnarowski) seen this happening in the league and not being discussed at all? Where they talk about players forcing their way out, player movement. But then what about the manipulation that goes into some of these situations where teams are waiting for the market to dry up before they release a player’s rights.”
McCollum was recently elected as president of the National Basketball Players Association, so it is no surprise to see him sticking up for Nunn this way.
The happy ending to Nunn’s free agency isn’t something that always occurs with other players in the NBA and other sports. Yet, teams and fans seem to possess more anger when players leave on their own in free agency than when a player is forced into the type of situation Nunn was.
Nunn showed that he could play in the NBA during his time with the Heat, but the sign-and-trade deal the team made for Kyle Lowry obviously changed Miami’s perception of his future with the team.
For the 2021-22 season, Nunn will earn $5 million, and he has a player option for the following season that would pay him $5.25 million.
Depending on the type of season Nunn has for the Lakers, he could very well be back on the free agent market next year.