As a Mavericks fan, the Phoenix Suns have always represented a complex set of emotions for me.

I became a Mavs fan while watching Dirk Nowitzski and Steve Nash bloom into the Hall-of-Famers they are today.

When the separation happened, I was upset, but I know that the NBA is a business, and I think both sides handled it well. (Besides Eric Dampier getting the money Nash could've gotten, but that's beside the point.)

To help ease the transition, I started to root for the Suns a little bit. I have always liked Arizona as a state. My parents went to the University of Arizona, and my uncle lives outside of Phoenix, so it wasn't exactly a stretch.

I liked watching the Suns, they were never boring, and the tandem of Nash, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire never failed to disappoint.

When the Mavs and Suns met in the playoffs, I would of course root for the Mavs, but should the Suns have won, I would have pulled for them too.

Then the 2006 NBA Finals came. The series that changed me as a basketball fan forever.

Dirk, who had been the most dominant player in the playoffs, suddenly was overshadowed by D-Wade and the force field that surrounded him.

That's when the bitterness started, and that's when my feelings towards the Suns shifted.

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