Land O'Lakers: Steve Nash's future, Jason Collins, Michael Sam, and Philip Seymour Hoffman

Summary: Who else is looking forward to the All-Star break and five full days without a Laker loss and (presumably, although no promises) a Laker injury? The show can be heard by clicking on the module and a list of talking points can be found below. Among the high points: * We take a look at the latest headlines. Adam Silver reportedly wants to raise the age limit to 20 (http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/08/among-adam-silvers-priorities-raising-nba-age-limit/). Chris Bosh will voice Asgardian hero Heimdall in an episode of Marvel's Hulk & the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. ...because of course he will. LeBron predicts he'll be one of the faces on the NBA Mount Rushmore (http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/10439666/lebron-james-says-among-nba-all-greats). Too brash a claim? And who would make the Land O' Lakers Podcast Mount Rushmore? * In our last show, Brian went to bat on behalf of Steve Nash (http://landolakers.com/2014/02/07/podcast-bizarre-wins-pau-gasol-limbo-steve-nashs-return-50-shades-sasha/), who'd been taking heat from fans calling for him to retire before he reached his 10th appearance, guaranteeing his 2015 salary would be off the books. Nash repaid this passionate plea by getting hurt again on Tuesday, which coincidentally marked appearance #10. Not cool, Nashty! In any event, is it a given Nash will retire next season, should his health fail to improve? If not, is it a guarantee the Lakers will use the stretch amnesty provision on him? * Adam Silver insists Jason Collins remains unemployed, to quote his old boss, for "basketball reasons," rather than his sexuality (http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/10432967/adam-silver-says-nba-teams-made-basketball-decision-jason-collins). How believable is this claim? In the meantime, what can be gleaned from Collins' situation when it comes to SEC Defensive Player of the Year Michael Sam, who just came out of the closet ahead of the NFL draft (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html?_r=0)? * Time for some AAK!!! What, if anything, have we ever collected? We compare the fine careers and talents of Paul Giamatti and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. If we could train an animal to understand and truly befriend us, what species would we pick? Were Mike D'Antoni fired, would we endorse George Karl as a replacement?