There reportedly could be a market for Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash, if he's healthy this season. Larry Coon of Basketball Insiders named the Phoenix Suns as one team potentially interested in trading for Nash.
Nash struggled the last two seasons with injuries: First with a broken leg, and then with nerve damage stemming from the broken leg. The Lakers seem optimistic about Nash's health, and the nerve damage reportedly has improved since last season. If Nash is healthy, Coon believes there are teams willing to take a chance on the aging veteran.
"As for Nash, if he's healthy, then I can absolutely see a team looking for an experienced, veteran leader wanting to bring him in, like OKC did with Derek Fisher the last few years," Coon wrote Friday. "And even with the glut of point guards in Phoenix, I can see them bringing him back home as an elder statesman and face of the franchise, especially if he has any plans of a career transition that keeps him with the club."
It'd take a big showing from Nash to convince any team he's healthy enough to warrant a spot on the 15-man roster. The 40-year-old has said before he plans to play out his contract, which earns him a $9.7 million salary before expiring in July, and Phoenix would make sense as a possible destination.
Yes, they have a loaded backcourt. But their myriad guards - Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas and Tyler Ennis - are young and would benefit from the experience and knowledge Nash has, especially as the team eyes a postseason run.
As for the Lakers, their point guard of the future is likely to be landed in free agency next summer, and Kobe Bryant is more than enough of a locker room presence to keep the team focused and in line.
