At 38, Steve Nash is starting all over again with Lakers

The oldest Laker might have the most adjusting to do in the coming weeks.

Steve Nash is learning a new offense alongside new teammates, all while playing for the team the 38-year-old had grown to hate over his first 16 seasons in the NBA.

“The players, the roster, the colors — everything is going to be different,” Nash said Monday during the Lakers’ media day, “so I’m going to have to adjust and I just try to put myself in the best position to be healthy and to be able to play at a high level so the adjustment isn’t that difficult.”

Is there enough time for the former Phoenix Suns point guard to help build the chemistry the Lakers need to contend for a title?

“I’m getting up there,” Nash said, “but I’m not going to be in the geriatric ward before the All-Star break, so I think we have time.”

Nash, who hasn’t missed many games because of injuries in recent seasons, said he was feeling “as good as I’ve ever felt. So we’ll see if that’s the truth or Father Time is catching up with me.”

Envisioning himself in purple and gold has been less difficult as the weeks have passed since he signed with his longtime Pacific Division rival in July, Nash said.

How so? Nash literally counted the ways.

“Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard,” Nash said, extending the fingers on one hand. “I mean, it’s Southern California. It kind of ticks all the boxes. It’s not an awful situation.”

Nash said his pick-and-roll game should be well suited to the Lakers’ new Princeton offense.

“The Princeton offense is about making all five guys a threat, all five guys reading and reacting and making it difficult for the defense,” Nash said. “Pick and rolls will be part of that, but we’ll also have pick-and-roll sets outside of that.

“It’s not going to be like Phoenix where four out of the five times down the court we’re running a pick and roll. We have a lot of options and a lot of players here to do a lot of different things. We’re all going to have to adjust and find a way to make each other better.”

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