Nash stuns everyone on 4th of July, possibly affecting Dwight Howard

Anyone who tells you that he or she saw this coming is lying. When one lists the potential suitors of Steve Nash earlier today, the Los Angeles Lakers are probably fifth, behind New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, and maybe Phoenix Suns, where Nash had played for the last 8 seasons. The Lakers seem to be an unlikely destination just based on this statement from Steve Nash, "For me, it would be hard to put on a Lakers jersey. That's just the way it is." Apparently it is not as
hard as he makes it sound. This move has the potential to put the Lakers as the team to beat in the Western Conference, and may prove devastating to some teams pursuing Nash, especially the Toronto Raptors.

The deal looks like this. Nash will go to the Lakers via sign-and-trade. The Suns will receive two first round picks and two second round picks from the Lakers while Nash slides into the Lakers' trade exception created when they shipped Lamar Odom to Dallas. Nash will earn around 25 million dollars over the 3-year deal. The Los Angeles Lakers, once thought too old to compete with the Thunder, is now a legitimate title contender again. The Lakers, barring any significant trade or movement, will boast a starting lineup of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. 4 of the 5 starters are arguably all top-5 players at their respective positions. Nevertheless, with the current roster, I still expect the Thunder to come up on top, mainly because of the bench. The Lakers have perhaps only one valuable player on the bench in Steve Blake, who will see plenty of time on the court as Nash would play only about 30 minutes a game. The Lakers need more help on the wing and in the post with Devin Ebanks and Josh Mcroberts as their primary reserves. The Lakers, already way over the luxury tax, will have no difficulty convincing veterans to sign for minimum contracts for a crack at the title. Their first target will be Nash's close friend Grant Hill. He will fill the need for a backup small forward and provide even more experience for the team. The Lakers also have the bird right of  Jordan Hill, who played well enough last season to deserve a return to the team. Moreover, the Lakers still have the taxpayer mini mid-level exception to use on a backup wing or big if one of the above-mentioned two does not sign. With these moves, the Lakers will be on par with the Thunder, but one potential trade would put them one step further. Steve Nash does not affect the Lakers' proposed trade for Dwight Howard at all. They may have surrendered two first round picks, but those are likely to be in the low 20s and would not be significant in determining the Magic's willingness to trade Dwight Howard to the Lakers. The only problems now is Dwight Howard's commitment to the Lakers. If he says yes, the Lakers will trade for him in a heartbeat.

The word now is that the trade would include Metta World Peace, but I don't understand why the Magic would want his remaining contract. If this is true, the Lakers can send all their expiring contracts (everyone except for the starter and Steve Blake), along with World Peace and Bynum to the Magic. In return, they can absorb the bad contracts of Hedo Turkoglu and either of Glen Davis or of Jason Richardson, together with Dwight Howard. This will be a huge get for the Orlando Magic, only contingent on Dwight Howard's willingness to commit to playing with the Lakers. If the Lakers do decide to do this trade, they will get their small forward to replace World Peace, and a productive backup shooting guard or power forward. They will lose any flexibility they might have for the next three years, but it also guarantees them a fairly productive bench. If I were Mitch Kupchak, I would pull the trigger. The Lakers have fallen over the past two seasons and this trade would put them on top again. Signing Steve Nash already shows that the ownership is not afraid of the luxury tax and will do anything possible to stay relevant and to contend for the championship.

Steve Nash's signing with the Lakers also has significant implication for the teams that fail to sign him. Toronto Raptors may be the biggest loser coming out of this. They have already agreed to a 3-year 19-million deal with Landry Fields (though technically nothing is signed so they can take it back) with the intention of preventing Nash from going to the Knicks. They will probably keep Jose Calderon and are still a long shot to make the playoff. They may now pursue Jeremy Lin who is now the best point guards on the market with Goran Dragic signing with the Suns, but the financial and emotional losses of losing their national hero cannot be underestimated

The New York Knicks, on the other hand, can withstand the loss of Nash. They get to keep Iman Shumpert and will probably match any offer Jeremy Lin receives. It prevents the awkward situation of signing a backup point guard for a 10-million-a-year contract. This does not improve the team, but ensures a bit more flexibility for the Knicks than if they were to sign Steve Nash.

The Phoenix Suns, where Nash played for the last 8 seasons, are quickly moving on. It has been reported that the Suns have signed Goran Dragic to a 4-year 30-million contract. This will be a return for Dragic as he played as Nash's backup from 2008 to 2011 before being traded to the Rockets. Two left-handed players Dragic and draft pick Kendall Marshall will serve as the team's point guard, with the possibility of them playing together, and Marcin Gortat is a top-10 center in the NBA. The Suns also have Michael Beasley, whom they sign to a 3-year 18 million contract, Josh Childress, Channing Frye, Jared Dudley and Hakim Warrick under contract. If they upgrade at the shooting guard (that may have already happened if the Hornets do not match Eric Gordon's offer), they may sneak into the playoff. It may not be worth missing the lottery to be a first-round-and-team, but at least it keeps the fans interested in the post-Nash era.

Now that Steve Nash has signed, everyone will be waiting for Dwight Howard's inevitable trade. Although nothing seems imminent, a trade to the Lakers will put the Lakers back to being the team to beat in the West.