Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE.

Steve Nash was unexpectedly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers last night in a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns for four draft picks and cash.

Nash was expected earlier that day to be closer to signing with the New York Knicks and a few days before that, the Toronto Raptors were the frontrunner for the former back-to-back MVP winner.

But as fate would have it, the Lakers swooped in and grabbed one of their former rivals. Nash in a Lakers jersey was unthinkable until yesterday. The Suns were even rumored to have turned down a deal to L.A. because they couldn’t stomach the idea of Nash playing there.

Now that he is there, how does this change the landscape of the Western Conference? Are the Lakers back now as NBA title contenders with Nash?

The Lakers get better with Nash, that’s for sure. Los Angeles has been looking for a point guard for some time now. They traded for Ramon Sessions at the trade deadline last season and that looked like it might work for awhile until Sessions disappeared in the playoffs.

Nash will be 38 years old at the start of next season but is still a productive player. He averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists last season in Phoenix. He also shot .532 percent from the field, .390 from three and .894 from the free throw line.

There is no question that Nash can still produce. The biggest question is how he will fit in with Kobe Bryant.

Kobe has never really played alongside a traditional point guard in his NBA career. Derek Fisher has been the point next to him for most of his days and the Lakers were a triangle offense team that didn’t feature a point.

Because of this, Kobe is used to having the ball in his hands as much if not more than the point guard he’s playing with. If you’ve watched Nash play, you’ll know that he too has the ball in his hands as much as any player in the league on offense.

Both Kobe and Nash will have to adjust. Nash will not be featured like he was in Phoenix. Kobe may want to let Nash patrol the floor with the ball in his hands a little more than he is used to.

Kobe and Nash may not work perfectly but they won’t fail. Nash is too good of a teammate and Kobe cares only about winning and he knows Nash is coming on board to assist in that.

Kobe will probably not benefit dramatically with Nash and get way more open looks. It will be the other players, especially Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, that feel the biggest change with Nash on the floor.

There is one area that Nash does not help at all and maybe even hurts the Lakers: defense. Nash has never been a good defender even back when he was super quick and winning MVP’s he still acted as an open door for guards like Tony Parker to easily drive by.

The greatest competition in the Western Conference for the Lakers will be of course the Oklahoma City Thunder. Just go down the list of their big three and you’ll see why they aren’t totally scared of the Lakers now any more than they were last season. They still can’t guard Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or James Harden.

But the Lakers weren’t all of a sudden going to be the favorites to come out of the West after signing a 38-year old point guard. They are better though and their potential is a little unknown and possibly greater than we might think.

The other factor now in play with the Lakers signing Nash is Dwight Howard. L.A. didn’t give up much to get Nash so Howard is still technically very much in play with them. After Brooklyn pretty much fell through for Howard, the Lakers seem the most likely suitor for him.

A package involving Bynum is probably the best deal Orlando could get back for trading away the best center in the league. There has been discussion between the two teams with a trade looking like: Bynum and Metta World Peace to the Magic for Howard and Jason Richardson.

If the Lakers could end up with a lineup looking like Nash, Kobe, Gasol and Howard, we can start talking about them as NBA Finals hopefuls. Until then, it’s the Thunder’s league and everybody else is just playing in it.

Nash will go to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade with the Lakers being able to absorb Nash’s contract because of the trade exception they received when they traded Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks last year.

Nash is set to sign with the Lakers for three years in a deal worth around $25 million.

The Lakers will receive four draft picks from Phoenix in the deal, first rounders in 2013 and 2015 and second rounders in 2013 and 2014.

The Lakers’ name came up as a possible destination for Nash Tuesday night but then it was rumored Phoenix would not deal Nash to their old nemesis.

The Knicks emerged as the favorite to get Nash today in what would have been their own sign-and-trade sending Iman Shumpert to the Suns.

The Toronto Raptors also went all in on Nash offering him a 3-year, $36 million deal as well as offering Landry Fields a 3-year, $20 million in an attempt to prevent New York from working out a sign-and-trade with the Suns for Fields.

The storyline surrounding the Lakers for much of last season was that they needed a point guard. When they traded for Ramon Sessions it was a big deal. So trading for Nash now is that much bigger of a deal in L.A.

Nash is 38 years old but played some great basketball last season. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between him and Kobe Bryant but you have to figure they will find a way to make it work.

Here is Nash’s statement regarding the trade via ESPN:

For the last 8 seasons I’ve been blessed to play for a team and a city that has embraced me and that I have come to call home. This is a tough business and the only thing constant in life is change.

After talking with (owner) Robert (Sarver) and (president of basketball operations) Lon (Babby) we’ve agreed that it’s time for both of us to move in new directions. I approached them and asked if they would be willing to do a sign and trade deal with L.A. because it is very important to me to stay near my children and family.

They were very apprehensive and didn’t want to do it. Fortunately for me, they reconsidered. They saw that they were able to get assets for their team that will make them better, assets they would not have otherwise had and it made sense for them to do a deal that helps their team get better.

I couldn’t be more grateful to the organization and Robert in particular. I know how hard this was for him and that fact that he was able to help me and my family in this way … it means a lot and says a lot about his character. I will never forget this gesture. Above and beyond.

The Phoenix Suns are an amazing organization and fans should be excited about their future. I hope the Suns win a championship some day soon for all the amazing fans and wonderful people in the organization.

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks may have become the front-runner to land Steve Nash, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The Knicks are in the process of working out a deal where Nash and the Phoenix Suns would be a part of a sign-and-trade involving Iman Shumpert. The potential deal for Nash would be three years and worth between $27 million-$30 million.

Nash’s named was linked with the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday but any potential deal between Phoenix and L.A. apparently fell through because the Suns do not want to trade Nash to their old rival.

Phoenix would also receive Toney Douglas and Dan Gadzuric as part of the deal. The Suns were close to drafting Shumpert in last year’s draft which could sweeten the deal for them.

The Knicks would prefer not to trade Shumpert but “will if they have to” to get Nash.

The Toronto Raptors previously seemed like the team most likely to sign Nash. Toronto was prepared to offer Nash a 3-year, $36 million deal and also offered restricted free agent Landry Fields a 3-year, $20 million deal in an attempt to prevent New York from getting Nash.

The dream scenario for the Knicks right now would be the sign-and-trade for Nash as well as re-signing Jeremy Lin, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. The Knicks would be committing upwards of $82 million to five players in the 2014-15 season if they get Nash and Lin.

The Houston Rockets are meeting with Lin today and are expected to offer him a deal worth around $30 million. The deal would be heavy on the back end with Lin making around $5 million per year in the first two years then around $10 million per in the final two.

The Knicks intend to match any offer sheet Lin signs with another team.

The Raptors were the first team to go all in on Nash and now the Knicks have countered. If New York can snag Nash from the Raptors, the move to sign Fields by Toronto will really look bad.

Nash in New York, reunited with Amare Stoudemire and possibly taming the trigger-happy Carmelo Anthony, would be heaven for Knicks’ fans. It wouldn’t necessarily be enough to call the Knicks contenders to the Miami Heat but it has to be seen as progress.

The Raptors have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with restricted free agent Fields for a 3-year, $20 million deal.

This thwarts any plans the New York Knicks had of pulling off a sign-and-trade with Fields to Phoenix for Nash. The Knicks could still match Toronto’s offer for Fields but the Suns would be much less interested in trading Nash for Fields at that price.

The Raptors, who have offered Nash a 3-year, $36 million deal, are now essentially putting up $56 million to bring Nash in if you include what they’ll pay Fields.

Nash may 38 years old but he had an excellent season last year and will immediately make the Raptors a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. The city will love Nash and the Raptors will become one of the most exciting teams in the conference.

This is what the train of thought is for the Raptors. They know they aren’t winning a title any time soon so why not go all in on Nash and put their team on the map?

The Knicks will now almost definitely re-sign Jeremy Lin or match any offer sheet he signs with someone else. The Knicks were also rumored to possibly consider Raymond Felton is they could not sign Nash.

J.R. Smith is said to be leaning towards re-signing with New York as well.