Lakers coach Scott says Nash intends to have presence around team

Byron Scott was just waiting by the phone.

Scott said last week that he'd reached out to injured Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash, hoping that the 40-year-old would remain involved with the team despite being ruled out for the season due to persistent back issues.

Finally, Nash called back Monday, according to the Lakers' coach. Scott said Tuesday that Nash's message was that he intends to have a presence around the team, though the timetable for doing so is unclear.

"He did say on his message that he's definitely going to come back and see everybody," Scott said. "He just needed some time, which we all understood. But he didn't give me a set time."

It's understandable that Nash wanted to clear his head after finding out that his career has likely come to a close. It's not immediately obvious what the value of having Nash around would be - there are few young players to mentor - but it certainly couldn't hurt.

And since he's cashing a $9.8-million check for the season, he should probably pop his head in from time to time if the team asks.