The Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Steve Nash in the summer of 2012 was seen as a massive move that, when combined with the trade for Dwight Howard, was expected to keep the Lakers in contention for more championships.
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Of course that has failed to be the case, and Steve Nash has struggled to stay healthy since coming to Los Angeles. Apparently, this trade almost did not happen as according to ESPN’s Henry Abbott, Nash and Kobe Bryant had an issue that almost prevented the trade from happening:
In the days before LA acquired Nash, sources say, the point guard wanted to hear from Bryant that the Lakers’ star was amenable to having Nash control the ball much of the time — a key tenet of the D’Antoni offense from the Suns days. When Lakers brass asked Bryant to call Nash, Bryant failed to do so, saying he preferred that Nash call him. The pettiness took days to resolve and nearly scuttled the deal.
This quote was one of many from Abbott’s ESPN piece that wondered whether Kobe was the reason that the Lakers have fallen on hard times. Kobe’s ability to play off the ball more and allow the point guard to handle it has been called into question on numerous occasions.
Unfortunately, Nash and Kobe have had very little time on the court together to be able to work things out.
Whether or not Kobe actually demanded that Nash call him instead of the other way around is up for question. Kobe may be hard to deal with sometimes, but this story would be one of the more petty moves in Kobe’s career if it turned out to be true.
[divide]Kobe Bryant On Lakers Identity Moving Forward, ‘Smashmouth Basketball’
