KAYSHIN15

July 4th, 2012 at 9:26 PM ^

That the butterfly will have a chance to be a apprentice for one of the best PGs in NBA history. If he's smart he will mimick Nash's every move until one of them leaves. This is the same way Nash became great. Nash learned from Jason Kidd, then Sam Cassel and when his time came he flourished. D-Mo has a real chance to make an impact in the NBA now if he can learn a few things.

BursleysFinest

July 4th, 2012 at 9:07 PM ^

  To add a Wolverine bias on it, Darius Morris probably won't be getting any more PT next year than he did last...Nash has always played a LOT of minutes, and Steve Blake is probably still comfortably ahead of DMo on the depth chart.

As a learning experience, playing with Steve Nash can't be beat though (and he might get a ring or 2 in the process)

WolvinLA2

July 4th, 2012 at 9:54 PM ^

Probably not a ring, certianly not two. The Lakers are still a ways behind the top teams in the west, and the Heat. And with the top playes on the Lakers (Kobe, Nash, Gasol if he stays) being so old, their window is closing fast, maybe already has.

He'll probably get a few deep playoff runs though. Maybe a conference final.

BursleysFinest

July 4th, 2012 at 10:19 PM ^

  Agree to disagree here, The Lakers biggest problem has always been that as great as he is, Kobe always wants the ball in his hands, even when it should be moving around...now that Nash will be the primary ball handler (and more importantly, Kobe won't be the primary ball handler), the Laker offense will be more dynamic and impossible to stop..a ring isn't guaranteed, but I wouldn't be surprised

Ali G Bomaye

July 5th, 2012 at 10:33 AM ^

The fact that Kobe and Nash are each used to being their team's primary ball handler is the problem, in my opinion.  Usually when two players get together who are both used to dominating the ball, it takes a while for them to gel and figure out how to use each other.  See, for example, the 2010-11 Heat with James and Wade playing together for the first time.  But the Lakers don't have time for Nash and Kobe to learn each other - they have maybe a year or two before both players (along with Gasol) fall off significantly.

WolvinLA2

July 5th, 2012 at 2:34 PM ^

They went to the finals their first year because the East sucked, but you can't deny that it took that team a while to figure out how to all play together. Also, you can't deny they have a lot more talent than the Lakers do right now, and that's if all the old guys (or young, injury prone guys like Bynum) can stay healthy.

MGJS SuperKick Party

July 4th, 2012 at 9:58 PM ^

Steve Nash has been my favorite player in the NBA for quite some time. I am thrilled to see him go to a contender for his best chance to win a ring. I think this puts the Lakers back in the discussion for best team in the west.

sandman24

July 5th, 2012 at 8:29 AM ^

In addition to seasoned veterens Steve Nash and Steve Blake, Darius Morris will potentially also have to beat out Andrew Goudelock.

While Goudelock's option hasn't yet been picked up, last year Goudelock played more games and minutes for the Lakers than Morris. 

Unfortunately, it will be an uphill battle for playing time for Darius.

kehnonymous

July 5th, 2012 at 11:09 AM ^

This is a strong move by the Laker front office.  It kind of came out of the blue but if you’ve followed the Lakers’ recent history, that’s generally been their M.O.

 Jeremy Gallon’s cloaking device?  He borrowed it from Laker GM Mitch Kupchak.  Under Kupchak, Laker management has usually had a very low signal-to-noise ratio especially when it comes to making major moves and the more you hear in advance about X Laker trade rumor the more I’m generally inclined to dismiss it out of hand.  It sounds paradoxical when you consider the constant swirl of drama that tends to surround the L.A. organization, but with as much historical cachet as we’ve had you probably have to learn pretty quick how to keep things on the down-low.

L.A. should and will make some more moves this summer; the latest I’ve heard will be some some small interest for most of you Piston fans: Nash is going to try and get Grant Hill to join him in L.A. for presumably a song and some peanuts.  The Nash acquisition doesn’t solve and indeed exacerbates the other big problem for our roster – the lack of youth and athleticism. 

That’s where Morris may come in. He recently signed a qualifying offer with L.A. and is one of the few young (and cheap) guys on the roster.  That relative paucity of youth was aggravated by the fact that we traded four draft picks to Phoenix. The Lakers will want to develop Morris in the hopes that he grows into a long-term solution.  We’re almost certainly not keeping Ramon Sessions.  Morris can push Steve Blake for the backup PG spot and with a full training camp and Nash’s tutelage things are looking a lot better than they were before.  Short-term he may not play much since he’s not a pure shooter as Goudelock or Blake, but Morris will be – I think – the fourth best playmaker on the squad behind Nash, Kobe and Gasol.  If Nash becomes the offensive coach that Mike Brown isn’t, Darius may do some work soon.

jshclhn

July 5th, 2012 at 11:27 AM ^

The Lakers are an old team, and with trading four draft picks to Phoenix for a (relative, in basketball terms) old guy, they are not getting any younger anytime soon.  The last few months, all of the pundits have been talking about how the Lakers need to get younger.

The Lakers will look for some young guy like Sessions or a bench guy like Morris to develop in lieu of those draft picks (or maybe just cross their fingers for more free-agent signings and trades to pick up some youth).

M-Wolverine

July 5th, 2012 at 1:26 PM ^

To see Grant Hill going around the League, team to team, trying to piggy back onto a title.  He's probably still not getting one, but he could have stuck with one team and established an identity there, and at least had that.  All because Orlando sold him a bill of goods on how they were going to get Duncan there to join him, and his wife was going to be a big music star. It worked out better on Detroit's end, but kinda sad to see what he's been reduced to.