Should Steve Nash Be Brought Back to LA Lakers Next Season?

With one year left on his contract, the general consensus is that Steve Nash is on the last leg of his career. Nash—who has been unable to be a productive member of the team during his entire tenure as a Los Angeles Laker—looks like he's already got one foot out the door in terms of retirement.

However, the Lakers should bring Nash back next season unless he plans on retiring, which would be good for both parties.

Barring some sort of miracle, the Lakers will not win a championship next season. However, they can sign some value free agents, hopefully win big in the draft and really save that salary-cap space for the offseason of 2015. The best way to do that is to eat Nash's expiring contract next season and have him off of the books for the 2015-16 season.

Not only is that the soundest move for them in the long run, there are holistic reasons to keeping Nash as well. In the twilight of his career, Nash deserves a chance to sing his swan song on the grandest stage of them all. There is no bigger spotlight than the one in L.A., and a career as spectacular as Nash's deserves to go out in that spotlight.

Danny Moloshok

Even for basketball reasons, at this point in his career, a healthy Steve Nash would make an excellent backup point guard in spurts. While Nash is definitely a major defensive liability, he can still orchestrate an offense and showed flashes of his former brilliance in a very small sample size this season.

Averaging seven points and six assists in 21 minutes per game, Nash was serviceable. However, every time Nash hit the court, it seemed like another freak injury would occur, and he would be sidelined for several weeks.

Optimism should not be high for Nash's full-time return next season. However, a hope-for-the-best, expect-the-worst type of attitude would be the best way to go about handling the Nash situation as the Lakers wait for his contract to expire.

Mark J. Terrill

Consider also that even if the Lakers end up with some quality free agents and a nice, young draft pick, they are going to need a locker room leader. Nash fills that void nicely. 

Although Kobe Bryant will no doubt continue to be the leader of the franchise, he isn't as charismatic as he is cerebral. He leads by example and can be cold and aloof when the team isn't winning at a clip he is normally accustomed to. Nash can be a foil for Bryant's brand of leadership with his own style.

However you spin it, the fact of the matter is that Nash's greatest value is as an expiring contract. His contributions in the locker room and on the court are mitigated because of his age and his inability to stay healthy. Basketball-wise, there is no way Nash should be playing ahead of point guards like Jordan Farmar or even Kendall Marshall. 

Mark J. Terrill

In fact, at this point, the Lakers' best use of Nash should be as a marketing tool. Alluding that next season would be his swan song could sell a lot of tickets for the Lakers. While it may seem heartless to make money off of a veteran whose only wish is to go out on his own terms, there is no way Nash can give the Lakers what they need to become contenders again.

While keeping Nash on for one more season so that his contract can expire and get knocked off the books without any complications might be a good business decision for the team, perhaps the most prudent course for both parties is if Nash retires. No disrespect to the legendary point guard, but there is something sad about witnessing a legend fight to play on his last legs and struggling to do so.

Nash's retirement would save him the trouble of struggling the way Shaquille O'Neal struggled on his last legs with the Boston Celtics. It would also give the Lakers some salary-cap space a little earlier and provide them with a little more flexibility this offseason.