LA Lakers News Roundup: Shaquille O'Neal criticizes HBO’s Winning Time, Former NBA champion says the ‘Showtime’ Lakers would dominate in today’s NBA, and more | 6th August, 2022

LA Lakers legend Shaquille O'Neal is the latest to rip HBO’s Winning Time for its portrayal of “The Logo,” Jerry West. Shaq found West’s depiction in the documentary to be “despicable.”

Kyle Kuzma, on the Draymond Green Show, asserted that the Showtime Lakers would completely dominate today’s era in the NBA. Kuzma specifically mentioned Magic Johnson, the heartbeat of that team, as a do-it-all star.

Kendrick Nunn’s expected return for the LA Lakers next season is on schedule, but he hasn’t been cleared for 5-on-5 action. Nunn could be an overlooked piece next season as the Tinseltown squad looks to redeem itself from a humiliating campaign.

Here are the latest headlines involving the LA Lakers as of Aug. 6, 2022:

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Shaquille O'Neal takes offense at how Jerry West was portrayed in HBO’s “Winning Time”

Shaquille O'Neal found HBO's Jerry West interpretation as "despicable." [Photo: Basketball Network]

The flak thrown at HBO since it released “Winning Time” last March has barely subsided. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar minced no words in blasting the show in a thought-provoking piece on Substack. He wrote:

“Jerry Buss is Egomaniac Entrepreneur, Jerry West is Crazed Coach, Magic Johnson is Sexual Simpleton, I’m Pompous Prick. They are caricatures, not characters.

“Amusement park portraits that emphasize one physical feature to amplify your appearance—but never touching the essence.”

Shaquille O'Neal made slightly less scathing comments, reserving his heavy punches towards the portrayal of Jerry West via USA Today:

“This was before my time, but that depiction of Jerry West was despicable. He's not that guy. Jerry West was a fine general manager, always did right by me.

“All the other stuff I thought was cool. As a fan, and someone who watches TV, the cinematography and action were great. It's shot very well. But not the way they treated Mr. West.”

Jerry West threatened to bring the Supreme Court to the scene and demanded an apology from HBO. The company, meanwhile, has defended the film.

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Kyle Kuzma believes the Showtime Lakers would be dominant in today’s NBA

Kyle Kuzma asserts that the Showtime Lakers would dominate the NBA today. [Photo: NBA.com]

Former LA Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma is a student of the game. He is well-opinionated regarding how teams and players showed their stuff back in the days.

Kuzma, on "The Draymond Green Show," agreed with the Golden State Warriors forward that comparing teams from different eras was difficult. However, he was very certain that the Showtime LA Lakers with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would be dominant in today’s NBA. Kuzma said:

"I believe that the Showtime Lakers, they would f*****g dominate this era. I was watching Magic in the 80s, just highlights like earlier in the summer.

"People don't realize he was fast as s***. He was fast as hell like he was getting the rebound, up the court and three dribbles and that's the NBA now."

Kuzma's the assertion was interesting as it came in front of Green, who has made some big claims of late himself. “Dray” asserted that the 2017 Golden State Warriors would beat Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.

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Kendrick Nunn still has one more significant hurdle to overcome before he starts training camp with the LA Lakers

Kendrick Nunn doesn't have the clearance yet to play 5-on5. [Photo: Silver Screen and Roll]

The LA Lakers took a chance on Kendrick Nunn when he was sidelined with a knee injury and signed him to a two-year deal. He missed all of last season but is expected to be part of the Lakers’ rotation in the upcoming season.

Nunn provided a glimmer of hope for Laker Nation when he revealed that he was on track to be ready when training camp starts. The trajectory is positive and he will look to be healthy by next season’s tip-off, but things could get dicey with injuries.

Jovan Buha, The Athletic’s LA Lakers reporter, noted one important fact that might hold significance in the future:

"Nunn recently spoke with Spectrum SportsNet about his health and said he feels 100 percent. He has been training with the younger Lakers – Reaves, Johnson, Wenyen Gabriel, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Mason Jones – during their Monday through Thursday offseason workouts."

Buha added:

"He hasn’t resumed five-on-five play yet, which is the next big hurdle. It seems like he should be ready to go by the start of training camp, but recovery isn’t always linear."

Buha also pointed out the significant role Nunn could play next season, particularly if Russell Westbrook is traded.