Reports: Suns have agreed to send Steve Nash to Lakers in sign-and-trade
David Aldridge of NBA.com first reported the possibility on Tuesday night, and now John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix is the first to report that the Suns have indeed agreed to send free-agent point guard Steve Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers in a sign-and-trade.
Nash to LA for multiple picks all but done!!!—
John Gambadoro (@Gambo620) July 04, 2012
Suns will get multiple picks from the Lakers, had been talk earlier of two first rounders so my belief is that it is at least the two 1sts—
John Gambadoro (@Gambo620) July 05, 2012
The deal has been confirmed by multiple national writers, including Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com and Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
Nash apparently will be slotted into the $8.9 million trade exception the Lakers received when they sent Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks before last season. Nash’s agent, Bill Duffy, told Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Nash will get a guaranteed three-year, $27 million deal.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic has details on the draft picks headed back to Phoenix:
In the Nash sign-and-trade, the #Suns will get 2013 & 2015 first-round picks and 2013 & 2014 second-round picks.—
Paul Coro (@paulcoro) July 05, 2012
Spears adds that the Suns will also get $3 million from L.A.
Despite a report earlier in the day that Nash favored the New York Knicks, Gambadoro says that is not true.
New York was never really a serious option for Nash, he preferred the Lakers—
John Gambadoro (@Gambo620) July 05, 2012
So now the Lakers get to put Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant out on the floor together, with Andrew Bynum and Pao Gasol potentially still bait for even bigger fish.
