The Los Angeles Lakers plan to keep Steve Nash next season and prefer to eat his contract ($9.7 million) in one swoop rather than waiving him and stretching the money over three years.

By finishing Nash's contract, the Lakers expect to have more money to spend in 2015 and 2016, when they figure to be more active on the free agent market.

Nash has missed all but 12 games this season due to nerve injuries.

The Lakers also plan to keep Kendall Marshall, who has a non-guaranteed deal for next season.

Kevin Love can become a free agent in 2015 and appears one of the more likely players to move teams even though he has downplayed the possibility of leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“You know, my parents live there and they had me there,” Love said of Los Angeles. “It’s not my fault. So, I don’t really care about that right now. I just go out there and play and don’t think about it.” 

A sources familiar with Love's thinking says he's enamored with the idea of being “big time in a big city,” and that list of potential places he’d seek includes Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Both the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers are projected to have max cap space in 2015, while the Chicago Bulls could have enough assets to acquire Love via trade.

Kobe Bryant was asked about the potential of either Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in June.

"both have great potential. Id mentor either one," Bryant replied on his verified Twitter account.

Wiggins and Parker have been expected to declare for the draft but neither has made a final decision.

Mike D'Antoni has received interest from Marshall on their head coaching vacancy.

Sources said that the Thundering Herd have pursued D'Antoni before and made this latest inquiry because they "always sound him out" any time the position becomes available.

Sources say D'Antoni is highly unlikely to end up at Marshall even if he's not retained by the Los Angeles Lakers.

D'Antoni played for the Thundering Herd from 1970 to '73.

D'Antoni has two seasons remaining on his contract with the Lakers.

Drew Gooden has been fined $15,000 by the NBA for committing an unnecessary act by clamping Nick Young's arm and attempting to throw him to the floor, the league announced on Saturday.

The incident occurred in Friday's Washington Wizards win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Gooden has established himself as a contributing reserve after first signing a pair of 10-day contracts with the Wizards.

Xavier Henry has been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his left wrist and will visit a hand specialist on Monday.

Henry will receive a timetable on his return Monday.

In his most productive NBA season, Henry has averaged 10.1 points and 2.8 rebounds.

Steve Nash had five points and 11 assists in 19 minutes in the Los Angeles Lakers' 117-107 loss to the Washington Wizards on Friday.

Nash hadn't played since Feb. 11 and was previously ruled out for the season.

"It was probably pretty stupid for me to play tonight," said Nash. "But I just wanted to play."

Robert Sacre scored seven points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.

Mike D'Antoni singled out Sacre after the game and praised the second-year center's work ethic.

"I thought Robert Sacre had his best game," D'Antoni said. "He works harder than anyone on the team, without a doubt, it's not even close.  In the weight room, on the floor, before practice, he's trying to make himself into a player.

"That's one of the reasons why I'm going to go with him and reward him -- and then he's playing well. He's probably our best defensive player on the team."

Sacre was the 60th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft and signed a multi-year contract with the Lakers last offseason.

Steve Nash had been ruled out for the remainder of the 13-14 season, but the Los Angeles Lakers are now down to one healthy point guard in Kendall Marshall.

Jordan Farmar is out at least two weeks with a strained right groin.

"It's still a possibility," Mike D'Antoni said Wednesday. "We have to see where he is physically. ... We'll have to see some practices and see how it goes." 

"I feel pretty good," said Nash on Tuesday. "I feel as though I could play now at a good level. The question is could I sustain it?" 

Jeanie Buss gave an interview with Time Warner Cable SportsNet on Wednesday in which she talked about the state of the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Ultimately the buck stops with me," she said. "I'm president and governor of the team and I have empowered the basketball operations, the front office, to put together a basketball team, working within the confines of the collective-bargaining agreement."

Buss is in charge of the business operations, while Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak run the basketball operations.

"We never got the opportunity to do the farewell tour for Magic Johnson," Buss said. "Kobe, by signing that deal, will have played 20 years for one organization. I guarantee that won't happen again.... To have the kind of longevity that he's had makes it extremely special, and I think that Lakers fans understand that."

Buss is not concerned with how Bryant's salary will impact the Lakers' salary cap in 2014 and 2015.

"Too much attention is being paid to salary cap and all that kind of stuff, which is important," she said. "Why can't we just talk about the players ... and how a basketball team comes together and not focus on slotting and cap space?

"I don't wear a hat and a T-shirt with 'cap space' on it," she added. "I have complete confidence in Jimmy and Mitch to put together the kind of team that Lakers fans are used to."