Steve Nash Says This Will Be His Last NBA Season
In a recent video interview with Sport TV (beware of language barriers if you watch the video) Los Angeles Lakers veteran point guard Steve Nash confirms that this upcoming NBA season will be the last go-round for the 40-year-old:
I think this is my last season. 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 acquired Nash in a sign-and-trade deal with the Phoenix Suns two summers ago. A back injury allowed him to only play 15 games for LA this past season. It’s understood that the Lakers would be willing to keep Nash for next season, likely in a more reserved role than originally planned as a mentor and supplement to newly acquired point guard Jeremy Lin. LA could waive Nash using the amnesty provision, which would require them to pay out his salary for three years instead of the one year left on his deal. However, waiving Nash would also impact their long-term chances of landing prospective free agents,
They’re waiting to see which free agents are available next summer and the summer after, to be honest. It’s a cyclical league and sometimes you have to go down to come back up. Right now, the Lakers are down and it takes time. I don’t know if we’re going to have a chance this year or not. But obviously in the future, they’ll be back where they have been many times.
Nash has had one of the more brilliant floor games to watch in this era, and when healthy, there’s no question he has been one of the best facilitators of all time. We’ll see him looking to create, mentor, and facilitate for the last time this upcoming NBA season.
