Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash may seek a medical retirement from the NBA if pain and discomfort from his back injury continues to persist.
According to the L.A. Times, the former two-time league MVP is suffering from irritation in his back stemming from a broken leg he suffered in the second game of last season. The newspaper reports there's a real chance that the 18-year pro may have already played in his last NBA game.
Nash is owed $9.3 million for the current year and $9.7 million for next season. If he's found to be physically unable to play, he would still receive full compensation. Provided the league elects to sign off on such a move, the final year of Nash's contract would be completely removed from the Lakers' salary cap -- as long as he plays in fewer than 10 games this season. So far, Nash has made six appearances.
The Times reports the Lakers have nearly cleared their books for the summer of 2014 with only Robert Sacre ($915,243) and Nash with guaranteed salary. Nick Young has a player option for $1.2 million, and rookie Elias Harris is under contract for a non-guaranteed $816,482.
If Nash's salary indeed comes off the books, the Lakers could have in the neighborhood of $54 million in spending power to chase free agents and/or re-sign their own players, such as Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
Big-name players such as LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Luol Deng and Greg Monroe could all be free agents next summer.
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