Officially, the Los Angeles Lakers injury bug is not restricted to players who started the season on the roster. On Monday, Kent Bazemore underwent an MRI that revealed he had a torn peroneus longus tendon in his right foot. Joining the likes of Kobe Bryant and Xavier Henry, Bazemore’s season is officially over.
Bazemore suffered the injury during the Lakers’ historic loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. After the game, the shooting guard said he heard a “pop,” which is never a good sound.
X-rays taken at the arena came back negative, so the MRI was scheduled for Monday, and the results were not good.
Acquired from the Golden State Warriors via a trade involving Steve Blake, Bazemore played 23 games and started 15 of them. He was an athletic wing player who possessed enough ball control to serve as a backup point guard. He averaged 13.1 points, 3.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 28 minutes per game with the Lakers.
Upon arrival, Bazemore was a bit trigger happy while integrating into the new team. However, he embraced the team role recently and had four or more assists in six of the last nine games -- including the loss to the Clippers.
At the time of Bazemore's injury, the Lakers were involved in a one-possession game.
Based on his production, Bazemore looked like the type of young talent that was worth developing and bringing back to the team. Depending on the surgery and his timeline for recovery, the Lakers should still be interested in Bazemore’s services next season. If anything, the injury likely scares off potential suitors for the 24-year-old out of Old Dominion University.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
In only his second season as a professional, Bazemore displayed the ability to shoot from distance and also get to the rim with ease. A hard worker on defense, the undrafted second-year player possesses several key characteristics scouts look for in young players that can develop into good players.
Per Lakers PR, a timetable for his recovery will not be made available until after the conclusion of the surgery.
