Steve Nash is confirming what most people have already assumed, the 2014-15 NBA season will be his last in the league. The Los Angeles Lakers point guard a variety of injuries that have limited his play over the past two seasons and the team is uncertain whether or not he will even be able to play now. With a contract that is untradeable, do the Lakers start now in building their backup plan for Nash?
"I think this is my last season," Nash said, via Bleacher Report. "But I still love to play, practice and work on my game. I'm going to spend hopefully many many years living this life without basketball. It'll be nice to play one more year."
The Lakers made the first move to get past Nash by trading for Jeremy Lin. If healthy, Nash could easily make an impact this season as the projected starter with Lin coming off the bench. However, there is no guarantee that he will be healthy. Nash said so himself that he intends on playing until his body tells him not to, but there are no guarantees what this season will look like. That could force the Lakers to make a move they may or may not be ready to do.
According to chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors, the Lakers could still be in play for point guard Rajon Rondo, but not until the 2015 season. The Boston Celtics point guard will be a free agent come next season and the Lakers may try and swing a deal for him. The team has been linked to acquiring Eric Bledsoe this offseason, but those negotiations are not going well considering the team's lack of funds and assets to deal. Myron believes the Lakers will slowly start to shift their focus to 2015 and leave their current roster as is. The Lakers have also been linked to both Ricky Rubio and Deron Williams via trades, but again those would not be able to happen until at least next season when the team has a little more cap space cleared.
Right now, the Celtics fully intend on keeping Rondo on the roster for the long-term. The team is holding out hope that the point guard can help them land Kevin Love in free agency. However, if the Celtics come up short, Rondo might not be down to stick around and the Lakers will come calling.