Los Angeles Lakers Reportedly Plan to Keep Steve Nash Next Season

40-year old Steve Nash isn’t contributing much on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he may (financially speaking) help out down the line. The Lakers reportedly plan to keep Nash around next season, and use his contract to make a splash in the free agent market. Per the LA Times:

Nash sat out another game (Sunday), which is no longer surprising for a player who appeared in only 12 this season.

For financial reasons, the Lakers currently plan to keep him next season, eating the remainder of his contract ($9.7 million) in one swoop instead of waiving him and spreading the money out over three years.

It would give them more money to spend in the summers of 2015 and 2016, when they figure to be active players in the free-agent market amid such possible names as Kevin Love, LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

So the Lakers will take the 40-year-old Nash into next season and hope he can play more than a handful of games.

“He’s 40 years old, playing what he loves, so I’m pretty envious. I don’t feel sorry for him,” (head coach Mike D’Antoni) said. “He could have quit early like everybody else did. I think it’s just remarkable.”