NBA Rumors: Steve Nash Smart to Stick with Phoenix Suns for Now
Sooner or later, Steve Nash will work his way onto a contender team so he can compete for an NBA title before his Hall-of-Fame career comes to a close.
Just don't expect that to happen until the offseason.
According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the soon to be 38-year-old point guard hasn't expressed any particular interest in switching teams just yet, despite the Phoenix Suns sporting a 9-14 record and remaining well out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference.
Nash's stance may well change before the March 15th trade deadline, but for now, he appears to be set to stay in the Valley of the Sun until the summer, when he'll become an unrestricted free agent.
And who could blame him? Sure, the Suns aren't winning, but maybe (just maybe) Nash actually enjoys playing in Phoenix with his current teammates.
A novel idea in today's NBA, to be sure, and one well worth at least a spot of praise. Of all the superstars out there who could or logically should seek new teams, Nash is at the top of the list. He's still a top-tier point guard—even in his late 30s—who's languishing on a squad that's going nowhere, with a career resume that includes just about everything except a championship ring.
There's no shortage of high-profile teams (i.e. the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks) that could use a player who averages 14.5 points and 9.9 assists as Nash currently does.
But would Nash really want to play for those teams or even fit in well with them?
The Heat already have LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to dominate the ball, the Lakers play a half-court style that doesn't necessarily suit Nash's fastbreak talents and the Knicks—well, they're a mess and Mike D'Antoni—Nash's old coach in Phoenix—may well be on the way out before he'd ever get there.
What's more, Nash's list of suitors could be even longer and more replete with attractive destinations than at present.
More specifically, Nash could potentially reunite with Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, with whom he played for six spectacular seasons before returning to the team that drafted him. The Mavs will have plenty of cap space at their disposal in the offseason, and if Dwight Howard and Deron Williams do join up with the New Jersey Nets, they would be wise to use some of that flexibility to make one last run at a title while Nowitzki is still an effective star.
In the meantime, the Suns have little incentive, if any, to find a new home for Nash. He's the centerpiece of the franchise, and the one player who people come to the arena to see, night in and night out.
Without him, the Suns would struggle to fill seats.
From a purely basketball perspective, hanging onto Nash still makes the most sense, as well. As valuable as Nash might be to contending teams, he's not likely to bring back all that much in return, given his age and the pending expiration of his contract.
But, who knows? Perhaps Nash will wake up one morning and realize that he's wasting what little elite-level basketball he has left in his body on a team that would be better served with a full-blown rebuilding project.
Perhaps Nash will stroll into GM Lance Blanks' office and request that he be sent to a title contender straight away.
Until then, he's a Sun and will be a Sun so long as the team will have him.
Which is to say, July 1st, when his contract expires.
