Lakers: Larry Nance Jr. Expected at Full Health in Two Weeks

Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. reportedly should have made a full recovery in about two weeks

For all of the frustrations caused by Byron Scott and his inconsistency with the young players on the Los Angeles Lakers last season, the one bright spot that emerged consistently was then-rookie Larry Nance Jr. The hyper-athletic forward showed tremendous maturity, energy, and simply made his presence known more often than not when he was on the floor.

Subsequently, that gave Lakers fans high hopes for what Nance could potentially do in his second year in LA and in the NBA. However, the power forward suffered a setback at Summer League when he took a bad fall going to the rim and suffered a wrist injury.

Though the injury wasn’t a fracture as initially feared, it did turn out to be a pretty severe sprain for the Wyoming product and he’s been working to recover from the injury ever since. According to Mike Trudell of TWC Sportsnet though, recovery has been going quite well.

Trudell reported on Thursday that Nance has completed two weeks worth of therapy to this point and has breezed through it to this point. Now the Lakers expect the forward to be fully recovered in back at it in just another two weeks:

The report from Trudell also noted that Nance’s therapy is taking place in Cleveland, but that two-week timetable for his full recovery also represents the timetable for his return to Los Angeles.

It’s hard not to look at Nance and see tremendous promise. With his effort and physical gifts, he can already affect the game in so many ways. And with the proper development offensively—particularly his jump shot—he could be a versatile weapon at the four.

Despite his promise, Nance is in a weird position with the Lakers simply because he plays the same position as Julius Randle and, as of right now, neither player is capable of playing out of position. That seemingly limits Nance’s minutes right out of the gate, which is unfortunate.

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Even still, the second-year forward is a valuable weapon for the Lakers and another second-round draft steal. Moreover, it’s good to see that his recovery is going smoothly and that it doesn’t look like he’ll miss any significant time or practice before the preseason.