38 Year Old Steve Nash Joins Fellow 1996 Draft-Mate Kobe Bryant In LA.
The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired two-time MVP, Steve Nash in a sign-and trade deal with the Phoenix Suns in exchange for 4 draft picks. The deal is believed to be worth $27 million over 3 years.
Just one week after Steve Nash called into ESPN New York and told Stephen A. Smith and Ryan Ruocco that ‘It would be hard to put on a Lakers jersey’; Nash suddenly had a change of heart this week after a very convincing pitch made by Kobe Bryant thus deciding putting on the Purple and Gold was the best move for his career going forward. Prior to this blockbuster deal for Lakers-Nation; the general feeling was that Nash would re-join his former teammate Amar’e Stoudemire and play for the Knicks, but things drastically changed in under a week. Steve Nash, who spends the bulk of his off-season in Manhattan, wanted to stay with his family in Phoenix when the NBA season starts. Not too far from Phoenix, L.A. was the nearest and best situation he could go to comfortably and have a realistic shot at winning an NBA title. With the signing of Nash, Ramon Sessions who declined a one-year player option is now expected to be taking his services elsewhere as the Lakers will not look to bring him back.
This move should have an instant impact for the Lakers as they will finally have a pass first point guard which hasn’t been seen since likes of Magic Johnson. With Nash being the offensive facilitator and providing a much needed offensively flow, this should take a lot of pressure off Kobe Bryant and incorporate the Lakers bigs more into the offense. The same could be said too for Nash coming into a less-pressure situation where he’s now the 4th option on the roster in comparison to having to be the 2nd option for the Knicks. Hopefully this situation works out for both parties, with Nash still looking for his first NBA ring and the Black Mamba thirsting for his sixth.