NBA Free Agency: Steve Nash Isn't Enough for Lakers to Win a Title

Even with the two-time MVP Steve Nash, the Los Angeles Lakers still need some personnel improvements if they are going to win a title next season.

Pairing Nash and Kobe Bryant is sure to be compelling, as the Lakers Hall-of-Fame backcourt should be among the best in the NBA next season.

Over the last few years, the team's biggest roster weakness has been at point guard. Derek Fisher was repeatedly torched by quicker guards, then Ramon Sessions was an underachieving starter.

The Western Conference is guard-heavy to the point that having a dominant PG is not as much a luxury as it is a necessity. 

By acquiring Nash, the Lakers are not getting ahead in the west as much as they are catching up.

Looking closely at the floor generals out west illustrates a trend of point guard dominance.

Other than the Lakers, the top six teams in the west have started a beast of a point guard. Tony Parker, Russell Westbrook, Mike Conley, Chris Paul and Ty Lawson all had the game to lead their teams last season.

Dallas' Jason Kidd and Utah's Devin Harris—the starters for the two teams that did not sport elite point guards in the west's postseason—were promptly swept out of the first round.

Where Nash benefits the Lakers is with his efficiency and his offensive prowess.

On a team full of journeymen players last year, Nash took the Suns within three games of the postseason. 

At 38, the Canadian still finished second in the league in assists per game and finished with an 18.77-plus efficiency rating of

But will he be able to slow down and still compete with Parker, Paul or Westbrook in the playoffs? 

No.

Mike Brown is an incredible defensive coach, and for years he masked the deficiencies of the Cavaliers' Mo Williams, a player with similar defensive struggles to Nash.

It will be a testament to his coaching capabilities if he can tighten up the Lakers' defense next season and allow Nash to continue doing what he does best on offense.

Nash definitely puts the Lakers back into the upper echelon in the west, but they still have some glaring issues.

Andrew Bynum's maturity is always suspect, while Pau Gasol's game has diminished in the transition from Phil Jackson's triangle offense. The bench is as thin as ever and is in dire need of relief.

Denver's second unit abused the Lakers in the postseason and took the series seven games, while James Harden and co. wrecked the Lakers in the second round.

Bolstering a paltry bench has to be among the top priorities for GM Mitch Kupchak now that the Nash deal is done.

Age is also a factor.

By the end of his three-year deal, Nash will be 41-years-old. With the young guns like the Thunder, the Grizzlies and the Clippers threatening to take over the conference, the Lakers made an intriguing short-term fix.

Simply, this is it for the Lakers as currently constructed.

They are a team that desperately needs some youth but just continues to get older. The average age for the Kobe/Nash backcourt is 36. 

LA's competition is much younger. As a comparison, the Grizzlies' Conley/Gay tandem is only 25, while OKC's Westbrook/Harden backcourt is just 23.

As immortal as Nash and Bryant have been over their careers, time is bound to catch up eventually.

The Lakers are in win-now mode, but the competition in the west is still as strong as ever.

OKC has the best player in the conference in Kevin Durant and is the favorite to reach the finals again next year. The Spurs are always dangerous, the Grizzlies are still a defensive monster and the Clippers are intent on bringing LA's other team some glory.

With Nash, Bryant, Gasol and Bynum, this team should be a force, but the smart money has still got to be on Durant and the Thunder to come out of the west next season.