Steve Nash made what was a foregone conclusion official by announcing his retirement on Saturday, but before that, he had at least one option to return to the court with a championship contender this season.
Nash already tried to chase a ring or two with the Lakers, and that couldn’t have ended up being more of a disaster.
Things would have been different in a new situation, however, where Nash wouldn’t have been relied upon as heavily to manufacture victories. But from a physical standpoint, he simply wasn’t up to the task.
From Marc Stein of ESPN.com:League sources told ESPN.com earlier this month that LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers -- who happen to have two of the biggest Nash admirers on Earth in their front office, in David Griffin and former teammate Raja Bell -- let it be known to longtime Nash agent Bill Duffy that they would love to give the old man a whirl as a short-minute backup to Kyrie Irving if Nash wanted to seek a buyout from the Lakers after the trade deadline passed with no deal.
No chance, though. ...
“I think I can [still] have a great game,” Nash said. “But I can’t do it more than once or twice a month.”
Just having Nash around would have been a bonus for the Cavaliers; he could have provided mentorship for Kyrie Irving, and been another veteran voice of leadership in the locker room during what’s expected to be a deep run through the postseason.
But despite the opinions of a certain rabid segment of the Lakers fan base, Nash was loyal to the team he finished his career with, and wouldn’t have even considered going anywhere else -- not that his body would allow it, which is why he finally made official what we all knew was coming.