Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash turned down a part-time player development consultant position with the Lakers and Phoenix Suns, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports.
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Nash’s departure surprised the majority of Lakers fans, because they had anticipated he would stay on the team’s staff in some capacity.
Nash was crucial to Jordan Clarkson‘s development last season, and fans had hoped Nash would also mentor the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft D’Angelo Russell.
Russell’s game closely resembles Nash with his ability to see the play before it happens and then set up his teammates for success. Like Nash, Russell is never going to be the fastest guy on the court, but they have a knack for playing under control and getting exactly where they want to on the floor.
Nash wanted to make it known that the Lakers and Suns only offered him a similar position after he had accepted the Golden State Warriors offer.
@SpearsNBAYahoo after I'd already agreed with the Warriors
— Steve Nash (@SteveNash) September 26, 2015
Nash’s explanation is not going to make Lakers fans feel any better about the nightmare they experienced during his underwhelming and injury-plagued tenure.
The last hope they had was for Nash to stick around and teach the young guards his craft. It didn’t matter if that meant bringing them along slowly during a rebuild. At least the fans could feel like they got something out of one of the worst transactions in Lakers history.
The front office executed a sign-and-trade for the 37-year-old who had aged like fine wine in his second stint with the Suns. Nash was coming off an incredible efficient 2011-12 season in which he shot 53 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three. He averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists in 31.6 minutes that year.
The Lakers offered Nash a three-year, $27 million contract to orchestrate an offense that would eventually feature Dwight Howard. Needless to say, neither of those transactions lived up to their billing.
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