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Report: Lakers promised Steve Nash he would play with Pau Gasol

The Los Angeles Lakers promised Steve Nash that he would be able to play with Pau Gasol before the point guard was acquired, meaning it's unlikely the Lakers would shop their forward all that soon.

By Kevin Zimmerman
Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

With rumors swirling that the Los Angeles Lakers could be looking to move forward Pau Gasol, ESPN's Ric Bucher's said that might not be the case. That's because the team told then-free agent Steve Nash that they promised the point guard that he would have the opportunity to play with Gasol, Bucher reports.

Bucher went as far as calling Gasol's retainment a "prerequisite" that led the former Suns point guard to turn down offers from the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors.

Nash hasn't had much opportunity to build chemistry between himself and the Spaniard. He played in the first two games of the season, but was shut down after a small fracture was discovered in his leg.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have struggled under new head coach Mike D'Antoni, and much of the criticism has shifted Gasol's way. However, Bucher warns that it is wrong to assume that the team won't give the Nash-Gasol experiment a good try before considering a trade.