They didn't want it. No one in the basketball world wanted it for them.
But on the heels of one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Lakers needed a clear sense of direction. And despite all of the intrigue that followed two-time MVP Steve Nash to Hollywood, the reality of his situation always cast a cloud of uncertainty over the organization's road ahead.
That cloud has now been lifted, though the basketball gods chose a particularly painful method to clear the skies. After suffering through two injury-riddled seasons with the Lakers, the 40-year-old couldn't make it to the opening night of the third.
The Painful Loss
As first reported by Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding, lingering nerve damage in his back has cost Nash what would have been his 19th—and quite possibly his final—season in the league. The Lakers later confirmed the news in a press release shared on the team's Twitter account:
Putting a positive spin on any of this isn't easy.
When athletes show signs of vulnerability, it forces us all to face uncomfortable questions about our own mortality. Losing a supremely talented player—whether for a single season or for good—is always an excruciating exercise.
For a player cut from Nash's cloth, the knife digs even deeper.
He had a once-in-a-generation gift for the point guard position. If the curtains have closed on his playing days, he'll walk away with 10,335 career assists, third-most in league history. He's also the NBA's all-time leader in free-throw percentage (90.43) and one of only 14 players to have multiple MVP awards on his resume.
Yet it's that same glowing track record that brought the silver lining to light for the Lakers. Without it, they could have accepted fate a while ago and acted accordingly.
