Is Los Angeles Lakers' Reliance on Steve Nash a Risky Proposition?
This year was supposed to be different for Steve Nash. This was supposed to be the year that Nash finally came through for the Los Angeles Lakers, if only because this would be his last chance. The 40-year-old had already insisted that the 2014-15 season would be his finale in the NBA.
"I think this is my last season," Nash told Sport TV over the summer (h/t SB Nation's Jason Patt). "But I still love to play, practice and work on my game. I'm going to spend hopefully many many years living this life without basketball. It'll be nice to play one more year."
The Lakers, to their credit, afforded him that opportunity, even if doing so was something of a risk. They certainly didn't have to—not after the two disappointing, injury-plagued campaigns they'd seen from Nash; not with young, hungry guards like Jeremy Lin and rookie Jordan Clarkson prepared to contribute at the point; and not with Kobe Bryant ready to resume the lion's share of the Lakers' playmaking duties.
They could've cut their losses if they wanted to do so. They could've paid Steve Nash the $9.7 million he had left on his contract and spread out the resulting cap hit over three years by way of the stretch provision in the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.
Nash became aware of that possibility during the 2013-14 season and even seemed to expect the Lakers to send him on his weary way into retirement.
Instead, the Lakers hung on to Nash, choosing instead to cast their lot with a future Hall of Famer in their attempt to return to relevance after an abysmal 27-55 finish in 2013-14.
So far, the results have been...well, mixed, just as they figured to be.
Nash, for his part, has said and done all of the right things. Rather than wallow in the self-pity and doubt that might otherwise overwhelm a man of Nash's advancing age and declining physical condition, the two-time MVP took the revelation in stride and used it to fuel the fire driving his comeback.
"When the media asked me about the stretch provision and I learned what it was, and it became clear to me that I'm a serious candidate for that, it did really energize me," Nash told Grantland.
It seemed, too, that Nash's renewal of his vows to his body and the game of basketball had paid off. He came to training camp in great shape, ready to resume his place alongside Bryant in the Lakers backcourt. "Steve [Nash] is amazing," Lakers forward Carlos Boozer recently told The Los Angeles Times' Eric Pincus. "He's really good, man. I enjoy playing with Steve. He makes the game really easy—great vision, great decision-making."
This, after Nash chipped in 11 points and five assists in just 12 minutes during the Lakers' preseason-opening win over the Denver Nuggets.
None of this makes the latest stumbling block in Nash's path back to competition any less disconcerting. Nash sat out L.A.'s second exhibition to rest, then asked out during the first quarter of the third. "We talked a little bit before the game, and he said he just wasn’t feeling quite right," Lakers coach Byron Scott said after the Lakers' second blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors in four nights, via ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi. "But he wanted to play, he wanted to give it a try. After the first quarter he said, 'Coach, you know what, I’m done.'"
Nash has since insisted that he's fine, that his recusal was more a matter of precaution than of actual injury.
But all would appear to be far from hunky-dory for Nash, if recent reports from Lakers practice are any indication.
Moreover, any time the words "back" and "nerve" wind up in a sentence about Nash, red flags are bound to fly, and rightfully so. Nash has dealt with back problems since his days with the Dallas Mavericks. In fact, Nash's condition probably played a part in the Mavs' decision not to match the six-year, $65 million deal he signed to join the Phoenix Suns a decade ago.
"Steve had some back problems early in his career," Mavs superstar and former Nash teammate Dirk Nowitzki told The Dallas Morning News' Eddie Sefko. "So I think Mark and Donnie were a little worried about his longevity. So I think that’s why they didn’t want to give him a five, six-year deal, which could have been argued at the time."
Nash's issues returned to the fore shortly after his purple-and-gold debut. During the second game of the 2012-13 season—the one that was supposed to yield a title contender in L.A., with Nash and Dwight Howard joining the fray—Nash bumped into Portland Trail Blazers then-rookie Damian Lillard.
The knock seemed ordinary enough at first blush. It turned out, though, that the collision broke a bone in Nash's left leg, which, in turn, wreaked havoc on nerve in the area.
What followed was a protracted recovery that lasted nearly two months—and, evidently, remains incomplete. Nash missed 32 games in 2012-13 before finding his way into just 15 contests this past season.
Perhaps, then, the Lakers would've been better off had they decided to move on from Nash this summer. There's nothing they can do about that now, but maybe they'd be wise to hand the point guard duties off to someone who, at the very least, isn't the oldest player in the NBA and doesn't have to be handled with kid gloves.
But Lin and Clarkson aren't exactly in peak shape themselves. Even if all three were fit to play, Lin and Clarkson wouldn't necessarily improve the Lakers' prospects of success this season. The former couldn't fend off Patrick Beverley for the Houston Rockets' starting job, while the latter has yet to play a single minute of meaningful NBA basketball after arriving in L.A. as the No. 46 pick in the 2014 draft.
And it's not as though the entirety of Nash's tenure with the Lakers has been a lost cause. Two years ago, Nash averaged 13.1 points and 6.8 assists with stellar shooting splits of .501/.448/.922 in the 48 games he played after returning from injury. Last season, Nash managed to put up 19 points and five assists on his 40th birthday, albeit against the sad-sack Philadelphia 76ers.
As far as the Kobe-Nash partnership is concerned, the Lakers weren't terrible—and were certainly far better than they proved to be last season—when those two last shared the floor on a regular basis. According to NBA.com, L.A. was 1.4 points per 100 possessions better than the opposition with Bryant and Nash in the lineup during the 2012-13 campaign.
Of course, these figures do little to illuminate what the Lakers will look like in 2014-15. Chances are, Bryant won't be the same player he was two seasons ago, not after battling his way back from Achilles and knee injuries. Nash, too, might be a shell of the shell of his former self that he was when these two members of the 1996 draft class could both be counted on to play from one day to the next.
And, as Nash recently noted, it's not as though they'll be operating together within a familiar framework. "In some ways, there are some moments where it's seamless," Nash told The Los Angeles Times' Mike Bresnahan (h/t Bleacher Report's David Murphy). "And in other ways, we're still figuring our way together because we haven't played that many games together and we've played together in three different offenses now. So it's always kind of been in flux and adjustments."
That being said, though the team's time and success with Nash at the point have both been fleeting, the glimpses have been tantalizing enough to merit more opportunities for the Santa Clara grad to peddle his wares. As Bleacher Report's David Murphy notes, L.A.'s opener against Denver featured more than a few of those moments:
"Entering the final leg of the journey, two guards with 24 All-Star appearances between them may finally be on the right path together. During their preseason appearance against Denver, the not-quite-geriatric cases started together and looked effective, smooth and oh-so-deliberate.
Bryant's fadeaway jumpers and pump fakes were tai chi compared to his blinding flurries of old. And Nash crept stealthily through the lane for layups or spotted up craftily from outside.
"
Long-term, Nash soaking up minutes at the point doesn't help the Lakers, but neither would handing those minutes to Lin, who'll be a free agent at season's end. Short-term, Nash's superiority as a shooter, ball-handler and passer—all skills that tend to age well, by the way—give L.A. a better chance to win from game to game than would someone like Lin, who doesn't project quite as well working off the ball next to Bryant.
And if the Lakers still stink, which they figure to, at least the fans, both L.A.'s own and those of the opposing team, will be treated to one last, long look at one of the greatest floor generals the game has ever seen.
In truth, then, leaning on Nash is only a risky proposition insofar as the Lakers can be considered playoff contenders. That wouldn't appear to be the case in a Western Conference that could run 11-deep with teams capable of competing for postseason spots.
If that's the case, why not let Nash play? Why not see if he can work his magic, if not for the benefit of the club, then for that of the fans?
The Lakers have already sunk nearly $10 million into Nash for the season, and there isn't much that could happen now to render Nash's tenure in L.A. anything approaching a rousing success. Why not, then, see what Nash has to offer before he hangs up his sneakers for good?
Considering the Lakers' lackluster outlook for the upcoming season, featuring Nash at the point is less risk than rational response.
Follow me on Twitter for Lakers news and views!
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
