So as reported yesterday, Steve Nash is indeed going to be wearing the purple and yellow jersey next year. So what does this mean for the Lakers now? Well first things first, it definitely could persuade highly touted centre Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic. Do I see a trade happening with the Magic to lure the centre from Florida? Yes, I definitely do. The Lakers need Howard more than a fat kid loves cake, Andrew Bynum just isn’t doing the trick anymore, and with Nash on the team, it definitely could persuade Howard to the west coast.
With this acquisition by the Lakers, it gives them the sort of balanced attack that could attract Howard over to LA in a trade. With Nash on the Lakers, don’t be surprised if former teammate and best friend Dirk Nowitzki will want a trade to LA also. Nash and Nowitzki were both teammates on the Dallas Mavericks from 1998-2004 and lit the league up with impressive plays and highlight reels for the ages.
Enough of the “What If” situations. With Nash on the Lakers squad, it will definitely take pressure off Kobe in dire situations down the stretch, and it will allow the Lakers to run the chaotic offense that can hang with the young gun teams like Oklahoma City who ousted them in the playoffs. At first I thought the Suns were crazy for allowing Nash to negotiate a trade with a rival team like LA, but then again if Nash had gone to the Raptors or the Knicks as a free agent, the Suns would have received nothing. So this trade was definitely the best of both worlds. It was a smart deal for the Suns and a steal for the Lakers, and the “coolest” of moves for Nash, whose three-year, $27-million Lakers deal is nearly $10 million less than he could’ve got elsewhere. One of the reasons why Nash stayed out west was he wanted to remain near his three children in Phoenix.
Many people are wondering, at age 38 is he still energetic enough to win? Well, he’s not Chris Paul anymore, but he’s still got plenty of Steve Nash left in him. He led the league in assists in five of the last eight seasons. Just last season was one of the best in his career as he averaged 13 points per game, and 53% shooting which was the second best of his career. So, he might not dominate games like he did several years ago in consecutive postseasons against his new team, but he can definitely steer the wheel late.
While the Lakers now have a brand-new offense, they still don’t have anybody to guard the hipster from OKC (Russell Westbrook) or Tony Parker from the Spurs, but they have Steve Nash..yea…Steve Nash. The Lakers can’t stop here and won’t stop here, they can’t think Nash alone will bring them a championship. They have one final chess piece to move. For now, break out the wine bottles, and start celebrating. Not even David Stern could stop a smart and strong trade.