10 trades and free-agent signings the Lakers would like a do-over on

Lakers do-over No. 4: Steve Nash trade, 2012

The 2012 offseason makes its third and final appearance on this list, with the trade for Steve Nash being the final nail in the coffin. It’s fascinating to think about what would have happened if the Lakers had traded for Chris Paul in 2011 (which was in the works before NBA Commissioner David Stern vetoed it) but instead, they made their big move in 2012, trading a bundle of draft picks in a sign-and-trade for Steve Nash.

Dwight Howard flamed out for the Lakers because of his personality and the pieces around him; the 38-year-old Nash struggled because his body failed him. He chose to join the Lakers and looked like the perfect fit with the other three stars. Instead, he fractured his leg in his second game, came back and suffered a hip injury, and had nerve issues in his leg that compromised much of the next year. Before what was to be his final year a back injury kept him out to the point that he never played a game.

In total, then, Nash appeared in just 65 games for the Lakers. He averaged 11.4 points and 6.4 assists and was a defensive sieve given his mobility issues. He made just under $29 million across those three seasons, an expensive charge for what was mainly an empty roster spot.

Even worse were the draft picks that the Lakers gave up. There were two second-round picks and a late 2013 first, valuable but not overly painful. The final first-round pick, however, rolled over until 2018 and became Mikal Bridges. Ouch.