It has been widely assumed that Steve Nash would retire after this season, his 19th in the NBA and third with the Lakers. After dealing with consistent injuries over the last two seasons, it just seemed like his time was up.
However that may not be the case as Nash revealed to the LA Daily News’ Mark Medina. Nash said that him playing after this season would be dependent on a couple of things:
My health, enjoyment and effectiveness. If I have a chance to play, it would have to be here. I’m not going to at this stage move somewhere else for a season and move my kids there.
Reviews of Nash so far both before and during training camp have been positive. The Lakers have been monitoring Nash and holding him out of some practices and drills, and though he did tweak his ankle yesterday, it is not serious and it looks like Nash may finally be able to contribute regularly.
No one is quite sure what the Lakers will do this off-season, but there will be many young point guards available with the likes of Rajon Rondo, Goran Dragic, and Kemba Walker all possibly hitting the market.
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Nash returning is probably a long shot, but if he shows he can still produce at a high level, he may want to try and make one more run at winning his first NBA championship. Nash’s time with the Lakers hasn’t been great so far thanks to injuries, but he is trying to make sure it ends on a positive note.
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