Steve Nash injury: Lakers guard will miss rest of season

Nash went through non-contact practice on Thursday and joined the Lakers for shootaround before the game on Friday. Coach Mike D’Antoni had previously ruled him out for the rest of the season back on Mar. 13. His career has been in question since ongoing nerve issues in his leg forced him out of action in February, with Nash himself saying that if he isn’t playing for the Lakers next season that he would retire.

Nash’s future in L.A. remains up in the air, as the Lakers could still use the rare stretch provision to waive the oldest player in the NBA this summer. If he can contribute, they could certainly use Nash’s talent next season. Los Angeles has 14 games left before their season is over, and at just 22-46, they have the fifth-worst record in the NBA.

Nash has been plagued by back issues since last season, and he has been limited to just 10 games this year. The 40-year-old didn’t even make it through two weeks of the season before being forced to sit for nearly three months. When he did return, he only made it through another four games.

In the 10 games he has played, Nash has looked nothing like himself, averaging 7.6 points and 4.7 assists while shooting just 36.0 percent overall and 31.6 percent from three.

But Nash has no plans of retiring, and the two-time MVP gave a completely honest reason why in Part Three of The Finish Line, his video documentary on Grantland.com:

It’s tough to blame Nash for wanting to return in order to collect the $9.7 million he’s owed next season. But while Nash admits the cash is a big motivation for him returning, he also says he’s not going to just mail in the season and collect his checks:

Los Angeles sits a half game above Utah for the worst record in the Western Conference at 22-42.

Nash played 41 minutes in his return, scoring 12 points and dishing nine assists.

Nash, who has missed 23 since since suffering a non-displaced fracture of his left leg on Oct. 31, guaranteed a Christmas Day return, but saw an early return for Saturday night’s game against the Warriors as being a possibility.

The Lakers opted to go without a morning shootaround on Saturday morning, and early reports stated that Nash would be a game-time decision. With Nash’s leg responding well to full-contact practices over the past few days, and head coach Mike D’Antoni champing at the bit to get his point guard back on the floor for the purple and gold, Nash appears to be ready to test the leg in game action.

Nash told Trudell he’ll “for sure” be on the court for the Lakers’ marquee East-West showdown next week after missing the previous 23 games with a fractured left fibula. He reportedly felt fine Friday after participating in a 5-on-5, full-court scrimmage the previous day.

The 17-year veteran was averaging 4.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in his first two games in the yellow and purple before going down with the injury.

Silver Screen and Roll noted that Nash practiced in full for the first time since his injury Oct. 31. Nash and the Lakers initially thought he had a deep bone bruise, but a MRI revealed the break. Nash had a setback due to nerve irritation that has kept him out of the lineup for 23 games.

Nash is averaging 4.5 points and four assists per game but only played in the first two games of the season, totaling just 50 minutes of floor time this season for the 38-year-old.

Nash, who has already missed 19 games, is covering from a small fracture in his left leg, which he suffered in the second game of the season.

Since Nash’s injury, the latest updates have continued to push back his return to the hardwood. Nash’s return is seen as vital to a Lakers’ turnaround -- LA is 9-12 overall and sits in a tie for 10th place in the West Conference standings.

Nash has already been ruled out of games all the way up to Tuesday as he tries to get back into a lineup that still hasn’t seen all of its pieces in one place, under one system, under one coach, for a long stretch of time.

Nash only played in two games before getting hurt and was producing at a career-low rate under Mike Brown. The change to the Mike D’Antoni system that he thrived in while in Phoenix should give him a boost in production. He just has to get back on the floor first.

Nash, 38, has missed nine games for the Lakers after starting the first two games of the season. If he is able to return after the four-game stretch, Nash would re-enter the lineup on Nov. 27 against the Indiana Pacers.

In the season opener, Nash recorded seven points and four assists in 34 minutes on the floor, but played only 16 minutes in the next game against the Trail Blazers before an injury ended his game.

Nash has been going through individual drill at practice and will be re-evaluated again at the end of the week.

This story originally appeared on SBNation.com.

UPDATE: Los Angeles Times beat writer Mike Bresnahan tweeted Sunday evening that Nash “could miss up to four weeks,” according to “a Lakers source.” It remains to be seen how accurate either diagnosis is but Bresnahan’s words suggest that the Lakers might have originally been a bit optimistic.

Nash bruised his left leg on Wednesday night in the Lakers’ loss to the Portland Trailblazers. He was injured just before halftime and came back out in the second half, but he did not last long and had to limp back to the the locker room, unable to play. He appeared to be in a lot of pain as he exited the floor and while the team did not rule him out until this evening, it was always considered unlikely that he would play against the Clippers.

While Nash’s absence will obviously be a blow to the struggling Lakers, it is also a knock to everyone who wanted to see him take on Paul in a battle of two of the NBA’s best point guards. Instead, everyone will have to wait for one of the three other Lakers versus Clippers match-ups this season.

Nash had to head back to the locker room after limping off the court. Nash played 15 minutes against Portland before getting injured, scoring two points on 1-of-3 shots while dishing out four assists.