With Dwight Howard having exited Los Angeles for the lower tax rates in Houston and an aging Kobe Bryant attempting to come back after undergoing Achilles surgery, many believe the Lakers will suffer through a miserable 2013-14 season.
Canadian point guard Steve Nash believes the Lakers could catch teams off guard though.
“I think everyone’s kind of counting us out, which is fine by me,” he told NBA.com’s Lang Whitaker Tuesday as the Vancouver Whitecaps’ part owner was set to practice with Italian soccer superpower Inter Milan. “I think it’s good for us to fly under the radar a little bit. We’ve got a lot of new pieces, we’ve got guys coming off injuries, myself included. So we’ve got to find out where everyone’s health is, and then figure out each other and play together, and hopefully we can surprise some people.”
Nash was asked what it was like to be around with Bryant.
“I think people kind of know what he’s like,” Nash explained. “He’s very single-minded, he’s very prepared, very intense. You can feel it, you feel the intensity. I think that’s what people expect and that’s what he is.”
Nash, who spent Monday in Toronto announcing the roster for the training camp for Canada’s senior men’s team, laughed off the idea that he was trying out for Inter, as some had suggested.
“I think that’s the way it’s being labeled, but it’s more of an honorary tryout, more like I’m going to go practice with them. But yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
