HoopsHype.com Rumors

Kevin Ding: Nash is out tomorrow but Lakers hope he will be ready for playoffs. Twitter

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

The L.A. Lakers and Kobe Bryant go together like peanut butter and bananas ... and the Lakers wouldn't dream of dumping him to save a few million bucks -- so says Lakers guard Steve Nash. There's a lot of talk going 'round that the Lakers might cut Kobe after he tore his Achilles last week ... because it would save them a fortune in luxury taxes on his salary -- roughly $80 million to be exact. But Nash doesn't believe a word of it ... telling TMZ, "Kobe is synonymous with the Lakers ... He's a strong person. He'll come back stronger than ever." TMZ.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Amnesty 

Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni told news reporters at Sunday's shootaround that point guard Steve Nash will not play Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Mike D'Antoni, Injuries 

Seeing Nash make his way to the training room for treatment before the game rather than head to the court for a crucial matchup as the Lakers fight for a playoff spot begged the question: Has this been the most frustrating season of his career? "Right up there, if not the most frustrating," said Nash, a 17-year veteran. "I've played a long time, so I can't remember all those years, but it's frustrating. Maybe it's because of the freshness, but it feels the most frustrating for sure." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash 

Nash, 39, has two more years and about $19 million left on his contract. His first season as a Laker will go down as a colossal letdown, barring a deep playoff run. "We should be a lot better than we are, and he's been injured more than probably his whole career," Lakers Coach Mike D'Antoni said. "So hopefully we can get in the playoffs and he can have a good run and turn that frustration into something good." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash 

Nash recently switched to a stronger medication in hopes of alleviating the pain in his hamstring, a source close to the point guard told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "It feels like when you go to use it, it grabs," Nash said of his hamstring. "You let up because you feel like you're going to tear it." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

So how does his latest injury feel? “It’s definitely getting better every day,” Nash said. “But I’m not free to do everything yet. It’s getting closer.” Nash said he still feels lingering pain in his hamstring, admitting concerns that he could tear it during certain movements. He also said the pain partly attributes to nerves affecting his hamstring as well. Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

Steve Nash will travel with the Lakers for their game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. A source close to Nash told ESPNLosAngeles.com that the point guard is eyeing a Friday return when the Lakers host the Golden State Warriors and characterized the chances of him playing against the Blazers as "slim." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

Mike Trudell: D'Antoni after Sat. practice on Nash: "I don't think he's going to go tomorrow." Would (essentially) be his 4th straight game out. Twitter @LakersReporter

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

Ware sustained a compound fracture of his right tibia in Louisville's 85-63 victory over Duke. He had surgery Sunday night. Howard called him earlier this week. "Steve [Nash] and Pau [Gasol] and the rest of the guys said hello to him also," Howard said. "I’m happy that he’s out of surgery. He’s looking forward to getting back on the court. His spirits are pretty good." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Injuries, Kevin Ware 

Mike Bresnahan: Steve Nash will not play for the Lakers tonight against Memphis. Still bothered by hip, hamstring soreness. Twitter @Mike_Bresnahan

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

"This is a team that has the puzzle parts, but they might not all come from the same puzzle," said one respected NBA scout. "It shows that putting together a team is not always just a matter of getting the 'best' or the 'most best' players together. On one hand, you might have been able to get better results faster if you put Nash together with Howard and let them pick-and-roll everybody to death. When you're mixing in Kobe and Pau, guys who have played a different style in a different system, you're forcing things." NBA.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard 

A lot of the insiders still just see pieces in purple and gold, with enough criticism to go around: "People act like this is a Kobe issue and he's not the problem," an Eastern Conference exec said. "The problem is he's trying to do the work, at least on defense, of both guards. He's trying to guard the guy Nash needs to be guarding. And that doesn't allow the Lakers to play on a string defensively because you can't hide Nash. He's a defensive liability, same as he's been for years ... With the Lakers, his inability to deal with younger, more physical and more athletic point guards has been a huge issue." NBA.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash 

One former NBA player, now an analyst for a rival team, talked of a mismatch between D'Antoni's preferred style of play. "Systems have to fit your personnel," he said. "It's fools gold to think that Kobe, Steve, at this stage in his career, can run the D'Antoni system." The coach, in other words, need to adapt to his players, not vice versa. "Dwight Howard is a low-post player, you've got to find a way to get him the ball inside," this critic said. "Pau, same thing with him. ... I don't know what they need to run, but Steve Nash is a pick-and-roll guy, half court, and you can't be discombobulated at this stage in the year as to what you're going to be running offensively. The game is instinct and when you go out on the floor and you're wondering what to do, you don't have a chance." NBA.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Mike D'Antoni, Dwight Howard 

Chris Broussard: Lakers announce Kobe probable for tomorrow at Sacramento, Nash questionable. Twitter @Chris_Broussard

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Injuries 

Mike Bresnahan: Nash says it's more like a "hip spasm"...it's bothered him for a few days. Hopes to play Saturday vs. Sacramento. Twitter @Mike_Bresnahan

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

"I didn’t come here and say, ‘This is my team,’ and all of that stuff," Howard said. "That wasn’t anything that was on my mind. Like I told you guys in the beginning, this is a great time for me to learn from a guy like Kobe, a guy like Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, and that’s what I intended on doing. I’ve learned so much from the beginning of the season until now that it’s going to help me moving forward in my career. So, this has been great. Everything that Kobe is doing, everything that Pau and Steve and those guys are doing will help me in the long run as far as taking a team over the hump." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard 

Kevin Ding: Nash said he got kneed in the right calf and had to fight through it down the stretch. Hoping it doesn't ball up on flight home. Twitter @KevinDing

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Injuries 

“Steve [Nash] knows,” Bryant said. “He and I both being in the league for so long, I think he understands the concept of windows getting closed. You know what I mean? And time being short. The urgency is there. For younger players like Dwight [Howard], it’s tough to understand that. You feel like your career is endless and you have an endless amount of opportunities in front of you.” HoopsWorld

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard 

Throughout his career it has been as if he was playing off the wrong foot -- too young to be the star he was supposed to be. At 6 feet, he needed to become a better shooter, and over these last three seasons he has converted a respectable 34.3 percent of his three-pointers. "I wanted to get a simple situation where I'm a part of a team, I'm helping them win every night," he says. "I just wanted to be part of a team that achieves something." That's why he signed with the Suns to be Steve Nash's backup for $1.5 million last season. "Getting an opportunity to be around him, seeing how he prepares for the games, seeing how serious you have to take it -- I think last year for the first time I was being consistent on how I prepare for the games," Telfair says. "My approach changed last season. Last year was my first time in the NBA when I wasn't on a rebuilding team or a young team." SI.com

Phoenix Suns, Toronto Raptors, Steve Nash, Sebastian Telfair