Steve Nash -- The Lakers Will NEVER Dump Kobe Bryant

The L.A. Lakers and Kobe Bryant go together like peanut butter and bananas ... and the Lakers wouldn't dream of dumping him to save a few million bucks -- so says Lakers guard Steve Nash.

There's a lot of talk going 'round that the Lakers might cut Kobe after he tore his Achilles last week ... because it would save them a fortune in luxury taxes on his salary -- roughly $80 million to be exact.

But Nash doesn't believe a word of it ... telling TMZ, "Kobe is synonymous with the Lakers ... He's a strong person. He'll come back stronger than ever."