On July 4, 2012, the Los Angeles Lakers pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade that no one saw coming. Mitch Kupchak and company were able to get their hands on a point guard that had been a matchup nightmare for the Lakers for more than half a decade.
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Steve Nash was acquired by the Lakers in exchange for multiple draft picks convincing many the team had found one of the missing pieces to a championship puzzle.
Unfortunately, the Nash trade didn’t turn out the way the team had hoped. Two games into Nash’s stint with the team, the veteran point guard went down with a leg injury that would ultimately set off numerous of injury problems resulting in only 65 games played in purple and gold.
One day after Nash was ruled out for the 2014-15 NBA season, Kupchak spoke to the media on Friday and expressed no regrets about making the deal, via ESPN’s Arash Markazi:
Kupchak on the Nash trade: "That’s part of what it takes to get a player like that. We would do it again."
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) October 25, 2014
Along with Nash ultimately turning out to be a bust for the Lakers, Dwight Howard left the team in free agency after one season with the team. Dwight left $30 million on the table from the Lakers to sign with the Houston Rockets.
As for Kupchak, it is hard to argue with his stance of making the deal again. Acquiring Dwight and Nash were the right moves at the time. Few disagreed with bringing in the perennial All-Stars to join Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace.
Even though Kupchak put together a team filled with star power, nothing went right during the 2012-13 NBA season. The Lakers were plagued by injuries and were never able to get going with all the talent they had in Los Angeles.
[divide]Lakers News: Steve Nash Ruled Out For Entire 2014-2015 Season