Steve Nash Acquisition Nice But Not Enough For Lakers

For the record I like the acquisition of Steve Nash but don’t like the value the Lakers placed on the aging but active point guard. While Laker fans will largely disagree with my take on the Nash trade one thing that cannot be argued is that this move alone will put the Lake Show back on the big stage that is the NBA Finals.

There is still much work to be done on this roster before we can start thinking of a parade. The Lakers weren’t a Nash away from a title. Nor were they a Dwight Howard away from contending. But get both men in purple and gold and you’ve got yourself reason to start dancing like Mark Madsen.

Nash is still productive but he’s no longer able to play big minutes and the Lakers still don’t have any depth behind him. That’s bad news for a team that features a head coach who couldn’t decide on a consistent rotation. It’s even worse news if we’re still stuck with Steve Blake being the backup plan. At this point the value of Ramon Sessions as a sixth man has never been higher. Too bad his ship has now officially sailed.

Mike Brown isn’t known at all for his ability to coach and scheme for the offense. His plan in Cleveland was to give the rock to LeBron and get out of the way. That was pretty much the same approach with Kobe. Now with Nash running the show you get the feeling Brown will again defer to the player that handles the rock most often. Relying on the players to call the shots isn’t going to cut it. Brown had better devise a plan of attack sooner than later.

There is still some talk of Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard. That move suddenly has much more appeal with the acquisition of Nash. Too bad the Lakers have no draft picks to offer Orlando in order to sweeten a potential trade. They’ll have to get a third or fourth party involved to make that happen if there is any life left in this tired rumor.

It’s also too bad that this move comes a dollar short and a day late. Nash might have plenty left in the tank but dude is 38. That tank is full but it shrinks in size by the month. Ball players reach a point in their careers when production starts a steep decline. Where Nash is in that process remains to be seen? Any analysis on what he’s done in the past is almost pointless. This is a what have you done for me lately business. As of now Nash has done nothing but elevate our hopes.

His presence gets this team closer to a title but the reality of going toe-to-toe with OKC, San Antonio or even Miami is still a dream. If the Lakers want to make sure this move doesn’t become a nightmare they’ll keep grinding to add more pieces. Nash alone is not enough.