LOS ANGELES -- With a few well-timed phone calls from Kobe Bryant to Steve Nash and Mitch Kupchak to Phoenix Suns' owner Robert Sarver, the Los Angeles Lakers have once again joined the elite of the NBA.
It's highly unusual for a player to be dealt to a team in his own division and nearly unheard of when he's a future Hall of Famer and you receive nothing but draft picks in return. However, because of Sarver's fondness for Nash, he accommodated the former Suns point guard by working a sign-and-trade so Nash could stay near his family in Phoenix.
Nash solves nearly every one of the Lakers biggest problems—except for Andrew Bynum's challenges with maturity.
The 16-year veteran—who's still chasing his first ring—gives Mike Brown a legitimately great point guard who's able to make everyone around him a better player—including Bryant. Nash will take the ball handling pressure off of Bryant, and he'll get Pau Gasol and Bynum easier shots in better spots on the court. He also gives the Lakers something they've been lacking for years—an excellent outside shot.
He's a career .491 shooter--.428 from beyond the three-point arc—and last season equaled his career best by shooting at a .532 clip from the field. He also makes 90 percent of his free throws. He's averaged 8.6 assists per game in his career; actually improving that to 9.5 during his eight seasons in Phoenix.
Many people are wondering how Nash will co-exist with fellow superstar Bryant. Nash said he wouldn't have come to the Lakers if Kobe wasn't behind it 100 percent.
"For me it was important that he was completely on board," Nash said in a national radio interview about his conversation with Bryant.
"I'm confident this is the right move," Nash continued, "and I believe this is going to work out well for everyone involved."
The Lakers are confident as well, committing $27 million to the 38-year-old Nash. But there is one area in which the South African-born Canadian is lacking—defensively.
Brown—who began his NBA career as an assistant coach/video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs—should head to his current team's DVD collection and pull the discs labeled "Showtime." It will give him some pretty good examples of how to cover up the defensive deficiencies of a great offensive point guard.
When Magic Johnson joined the Lakers as a 19-year old NCAA Champion from Michigan State, he was already an accomplished ball-handler; and while not a great outside shooter, he could be counted on to get easy fast-break baskets as well as set up his teammates for the same. He did, however, struggle on the defensive end of the floor.
At 6-9, the Magic Man was unstoppable with the ball in his hands, but wasn't quite as dynamic on the other end of the floor—especially when he was going against smaller speedsters like Philadelphia's Maurice Cheeks or Portland's Johnny Davis. The Showtime Lakers—under head coach Jack McKinney, then Paul Westhead and finally Pat Riley—instituted a team-defense concept that played off of man-to-man coverage, funneling the player with the ball toward the middle where Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would be waiting to block his shot or the power forward could use his body to prevent a layup.
With Norm Nixon (later Byron Scott) and Michael Cooper being two of the quickest defensive players of that era, the Lakers also became the leading proponent of a trapping defense. Nixon or Cooper would force the ball to one side of the court, where Magic and another player would be waiting to spring the trap. The player with the ball would end up looking at three guys putting the defensive squeeze on him, and many times would commit a costly turnover. The result was five NBA titles in 12 years and a blueprint of the defense the Lakers should play now that Nash is the starting point guard.
Nash has always been a below-average defensive player, something the Lakers must address by relying less on man-to-man defense and more on the team scheme. With Kobe Bryant still playing outstanding D, and the big bodies of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol clogging the paint, they can likely overcome Nash's spotty defense. It's also imperative to have a young, athletic bench that can come in and give the starters a breather. The trap is effective, but it's also extremely tiring if you play a lot of it.
Even with this bit of negativity, it's been a brilliant week for a team that appeared to be headed downhill in a hurry. With the signing of Nash and the renewal of efforts to acquire Dwight Howard from Orlando, the Lakers have once again stunned the NBA with a big move. And Nash—basketball player and family man--is very happy with his decision to bring his talents to Los Angeles.
"The idea to be close to my son, my daughters, who will be in Phoenix, was the No. 1 priority," Nash said. "It's fantastic. I think I'm a good fit for the team, and we have a great team, we're a contender, that's all incredible, too. But as far as getting over the hump and being able to be a Laker after being a Sun and trying to beat the Lakers in the playoffs all those years, the reality is it was too great of an opportunity to pass up as far as my children were concerned. And fortunately for me, it's a great basketball situation."
