NBA Free Agents 2012: Why the Miami Heat Must Sign Steve Nash

Steve Nash, at 38 years old, has been the definition of an ageless wonder.

Over the course of the grueling schedule brought on by the lockout-shortened season, Nash has shown no signs of decline.

Averaging 12.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and a league-leading 11.3 assists per game this season, Nash has kept a less than mediocre Suns team at around .500 basketball all season, even flirting with a playoff birth.

He’s made the likes of Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, Amar’e Stoudemire and Marcin Gortat go from good players to great players (earning them a lot of money in the process).

The “Nash Effect” is no myth. Nash has proven year after year that he is capable of making every single one of his teammates better.

The Phoenix Suns gave Nash an ultimatum of sorts this year, saying that unless Nash requested a trade, they would have him play out the year in a Suns uniform.

Since Nash is a class act, he repeatedly said that he would not abandon his commitment to his team or his teammates by asking to be traded.

The last laugh in this situation may be on the Suns, who, after losing Amar’e Stoudemire in free agency to the New York Knicks after reaching the Western Conference Finals, may be looking at the same situation with the face of the franchise.

Nash recently said on the “The Dan Patrick Show” that if the Suns do not add players for next season to improve the team, he’ll sign elsewhere.

As a Suns fan, I’ve gone over every possible scenario in my head. Angered by the organization’s stance to make Nash out to be the bad guy, forcing him to make the decision on whether or not he’d be traded was a cowardly move on their part.

For some odd reason, they think that the team they have in place can compete.

News flash: they can’t.

No matter how great Nash plays, there’s just too much talent in the West for the Suns to make a run with the team they have in place. They should have traded Nash when they had the chance. Now they may lose the face of the franchise for no compensation.

Honestly, I thought that the Suns should have traded Nash before the start of the lockout-shortened season.

What better time to bottom out for a draft pick? A season that most fans stopped caring about during the bickering over revenue splits...why not choose that year to start the rebuilding process?

Instead, the Suns were content staying pat as a borderline eight seed.

So what was the big plan? Keep Nash in the hopes that he would re-sign, thus creating the same team that missed the playoffs for what appears to be two years running?

That’s no plan at all.

Before Dwight Howard decided stay in Orlando through next season, this was my "master" plan:

1. Re-sign Nash

2. Amnesty Josh Childress

3. Sign Dwight Howard in free agency (he had said he wanted to play with Nash)

4. Trade Marcin Gortat, Hakim Warrick and a first-rounder to the Atlanta Hawks for disgruntled forward Josh Smith.

As much of a pipe dream as it was, it wasn’t absurdly far-fetched.

But now, the chances that Nash stays in Phoenix are remote at best.

So after landing LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and others, the city of Miami needs to target another world class athlete. They need to go after Steve Nash.

Critics of this move will say it won’t work. They'll say that Dwyane Wade and LeBron James need to have the ball in their hands to be effective.

Trust me. Nash will get them the ball.

Currently, without Nash, the Miami Heat are one of the most dangerous teams in basketball. When they play to their full potential, they are a downright scary team in transition, a stifling defensive team and a team that you simply won’t beat when they're on their game.

At other times, they look lost, frustrated and confused. They embarrass bad opponents, but get embarrassed by worthy opponents. Losing by 15 to the Indiana Pacers, 16 to the Oklahoma City Thunder and, most recently, a 19-point beating at the hands of the Boston Celtics (and that’s just in their past 10 games).

If Nash will listen, and he has already stated that he will, the Heat need to target him to be their floor general.

Nash said recently that he wants to sign a three-year contract this offseason and that concerns about his back have been blown out of proportion.

On the negative side, the two-time MVP is a liability on defense, no question about it. However, I think that the Heat’s already steady defense can overcome that.

When motivated, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are two of the best defenders in the NBA. I firmly believe that the supporting cast around Nash would step up their help defense in order to have the offense that Nash brings.

If Nash joined the Heat, it would put an end to the questions surrounding Wade and James on who should be the main ball-handler, and their already phenomenal transition game would get even better, which is a scary thought.

If you’ve never actually sat down to watch a Suns game (and as far as this season goes, I don’t blame you), you’re missing out on Nash’s beautiful outlet passes. There’s a reason why the book written about the run-and-gun Suns was titled “Seven Seconds or Less.”

However, there’s one big problem that faces the Heat in this scenario.

Money.

With so much invested in the big three, Nash would have to take a massive pay cut to play alongside South Beach’s superstars.

Would he do it? I think so.

Should he do it? I also think so.

If the Miami Heat added Steve Nash, they’d be getting an unselfish veteran presence.

Nash is the definition of a “pass-first” point guard. Even on a bad Suns team that desperately needs his offense, he rarely looks to score in bunches.

On the Heat, Nash would sink open threes, defer to the superstars, control the tempo and make the Heat even scarier to face.

If Nash is hungry for a ring, Miami gives him the best opportunity to attain one, and if a two-time MVP is open to bring you his services, listen.