Nash to Lakers: Hurts or Helps?

Joe Johnson to the Brooklyn Nets, Ray Allen to the Miami Heat, Jamal Crawford to the L.A. Clippers...There's been so many big free agent splashes this NBA offseason that there's barely any water left in the pool. But in my mind the biggest cannonball we've seen to date is guard Steve Nash swapping his longtime Phoenix Suns jersey in favor of a purple and gold Los Angeles Lakers uniform. Just when you think the Lakers are teetering off the border of legitimate contender after getting bounced in the Western conference semi-finals the past two seasons, they go out and land one of the best point guards we've ever seen play this game. The aging 2-time MVP is heading to Southern California with just enough fuel left in his basketball tank to make a 3-year/$27 million dollar deal worth while for the Lakers. I completely understand the skepticism that comes with signing a 38 year old, but I'm not one to harp on the expectation of a decline before I've actually seen a great decline. Of course Nash is no longer the player he was from 2004-2009 when he was averaging north of 16 ppg, leading the league in assists, and was the best player on a championship contender in Phoenix, but let's not act like the Canadian guard didn't get it done in a big way in 2011-12 either. Not only was Nash one of the only players in the L to average a double-double with points and assists, but his 10.7 assists per game were second in the league to only Celtics guard Rajon Rondo. In fact, over the last 3 NBA seasons Steve Nash has the most total assists of any player in the game. On top of that consistency in the passing game, Nash also stays on the court. Throw age out the window, Nash hasn't played less than 60 games in a season in 10 years! When Nash comes to Laker-Land this season he'll also bring a much needed consistency in the shooting department. This past season Nash shot an incredibly efficient percentage from both the floor (53%) and beyond the arch (40%) for the Suns. Both those percentages from Nash during the 2011-12 season would lead the Lakers roster should it not change further. Forget the stats for a second too...If you don't think Steve Nash is going to bring the best out of L.A.'s strongest suit, which at this point is Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, you're crazy. Take Nash's latest center in Phoenix, Marcin Gortat, as an example. In Gortat's first 4 seasons in the NBA for Orlando, he never averaged more than 4 points per game for the Magic. After signing with the Suns in 2010, Gortat has averaged 13ppg and 15.4ppg working alongside Nash. Nash assisted his other 'big man' in Phoenix, Channing Frye, in averaging double figures the last 2 seasons with the Suns after putting up single digits in 3 consecutive seasons in Portland. Ask Amare Stoudemire how Steve Nash made him look in a Suns uniform. He makes players, especially athletic frontcourt, better. Period. Of course the million dollar question that seems to get mixed reaction is how Nash will flow with Kobe Bryant in the half court setting. I'm sure they'll have their bumps in the road along the way, but how is having a heady point guard running your team ever a bad thing? After watching nearly every Lakers game over the last 2 seasons I think I'm safe in saying that regardless of the greatness of Kobe, too much is too much. I hear people say, 'well Kobe won't have the ball in his hands as much'. Why is that a bad thing? Was that working for L.A. the last two seasons? This past season Kobe ended up shooting more times than anyone else in the league but had the worst field goal percentage he's had since he was a teenager. Bryant's 3-point attempts were also his highest in 5 years, while his percentage of making those 3's was his lowest in a decade. I do still think Kobe is playing at an elite level and should be leading the Lakers in shots, but shooting 13 times more than your next best player who happens to be an all-star is where I think Nash will help. The obvious disadvantage to L.A.'s aging weapons is that the time to win is now. The Lakers don't have the luxury of chalking up a season as a learning process as we've seen in Miami and New York, but rather fast forward the learning curve, raise the bar, and hoist another banner before time runs out. Anything short of that for Nash, Kobe or Los Angeles will be a disappointment.