But it wasn’t always this way. Nash, who averaged 12.5 PPG and 10.2 APG last season and became an unrestricted free agent at the beginning of July, was open to whatever would end up being the best overall situation for him after his contract had expired with Phoenix.
With rumors of him running the star-studded offense of Miami feigning only to the glory of bringing a championship to the New York Knicks, the idea of Nash wearing the famed purple-and-gold often seemed far-fetched at best. Even Nash was hesitant.
"For me, it would be hard to put on a Lakers jersey. That's just the way it is,” Nash told ESPN.com on June 25. “You play against them so many times in the playoffs, and I just use them as an example, and I have the utmost respect for them and their organization."
But due to the 38-year-old point guard’s willingness to be open and accepting of new leadership roles after a choice phone call from Kobe Bryant, he found his way to Los Angeles.
His leadership abilities coincide perfectly with Bryant’s, enacting a bit of a good-cop, bad-cop routine highlighted in this article from the Los Angeles Times.
Both absolute gym rats known around the league as two of the most likely candidates to become NBA coaches upon retirement, Kobe will finally get the ball-handling point guard he’s never had and Nash will get to play with his first elite shooter.
This is a bizarre time to be Steve Nash. There’s no doubt about that in anyone’s mind. In the peak of the Mike D’Antoni Era in Phoenix, it was the Lakers who always served as the biggest rival to the team within the conference.
"It feels strange, no question," Nash told ESPN.com. "I never, never thought I'd be a Laker."
Pau Gasol also added his input...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
