NBA Trade Rumors: Why Fans Should Expect Steve Nash to Stay with Phoenix Suns

Steve Nash's situation makes him a prime trade target, but he isn't going anywhere. This is because he appears to be one of the few stars in the NBA that is actually interested in fulfilling a commitment he made to a team. 

Nash is in the last year of his deal. He just turned 38, and he is on a bad team that is going nowhere. These conditions would hint that a trade is imminent.

But that is certainly not the case. Take a look for yourself. 

Evidence of Nash Staying with Suns

Sam Amick of SI.com recently published an article examining the Nash situation. In that piece, he had quotes from numerous people close to the situation.

Here are some of those quotes. 

Suns coach Alvin Gentry: 

"

I know, as of right now, he has not said one thing to me about not wanting to be here or anything like that. I know there are a lot of teams that would like for him to say [that] so they can try to get him, but unfortunately [for them] that's not anything that we've had to deal with or anything that he's even remotely said to me.

"

Unlike many players on bad teams and in less-than-huge markets, Nash has not demanded a trade. He explains why in that same article. 

Nash:

"

I have no idea what the club will eventually do if a bunch of offers are thrown in their face, but I feel like I'm not nervous about [the trade deadline] and I'm not thinking about—what's the word?—I'm not anticipating anything to happen. I feel like I made a commitment and I feel like I owe it to my teammates—the city, the fans, the club—to play it out and to play as hard as I can.

"

And while these comments are all well and good, they do little to suggest that the Suns won't trade Nash anyway. This franchise needs to get younger, and trading Nash for a good young star would be a tremendous start. 

But they are not going to trade Nash if he wants to stay there. Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby explains this stance in Amick's article.  

Babby: 

"

Our position has been the same all along, which is I've told him that he has earned the right to stay with our franchise as long as he wants provided that he believes in what we're doing, and provided that he's all in and wants to do that.  

"

Nash Stays in Phoenix

Phoenix is happy to keep Nash in town and let the legend play out his contract. His big contract is expiring at the end of the season. This will open up cap space for the Suns. 

They will be able to grab a younger player at that point, and there is a chance that Nash will even re-sign at a discounted rate. 

The only way Phoenix would trade Nash is if a team absolutely blew them away with an offer, and that is not going to happen. 

Nash is too old for a team to mortgage their future with the major blockbuster trade that would pry Nash from the Suns fingers.