Steve Nash Rumors: Does Nash Make NY Knicks Instant Title Contenders?

Adrian Wojnarowski of Y! Sports is reporting that the New York Knicks are emerging as the front-runners for landing Steve Nash, via a sign-and-trade deal.

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The Knicks have emerged as frontrunners to land Steve Nash in a sign-and-trade deal, league sources tell Y! Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 4, 2012"

ESPN's Marc Stein reported that the Knicks don't necessarily want to include Iman Shumpert in a sign-and-trade for Nash, but if they have to, they'll send Shumpert to the Suns.

For the sake of this argument, let's say that a sign-and-trade goes through that sends Iman Shumpert and a draft pick to the Suns for Steve Nash.

Does adding Nash to an already star-studded roster with Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire make the Knicks an instant title contender heading into the 2012-13 season?

In theory, adding Nash to the Knicks' foundational talent certainly makes the Knicks a title contender, because Nash brings the one component of success that the Knicks lacked last year—chemistry.

The way Nash plays the game is defined by his ability to not only facilitate offense to his teammates, but also his ability to create offense for the players around him, and that's something the Knicks lacked last season.

Jeremy Lin was a solid point guard, but he focused first on scoring, with facilitating to teammates as his second option.

That worked when Lin, 'Melo and Amar'e weren't on the court together, but when all three players were on the court, the way they all played didn't function effectively, and it didn't function because they didn't truly play together.

Lin isn't a bad player, but he wasn't the player the Knicks needed running the point.

With 'Melo and Amar'e, the Knicks need a point guard who can first create offense for them, and second, score when needed. That's exactly who Steve Nash is.

Don't forget that when Amar'e was in Phoenix, he and Nash took the Suns to three Western Conference finals appearances—in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2009-10.

While that chemistry with Amar'e will take some time to rebuild, there's no doubt that with Nash, 'Melo and Amar'e running in the Knicks' offense, especially in transition, the Knicks can certainly be a title contender coming out of the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks will need to figure out which bench players they need to sign to complement their star players' talents. But that will all fall into place if the Knicks are able to pull off a sign-and-trade for Nash.

Having three All-Stars on the same roster certainly worked out for the Miami Heat this past season, and while the Knicks' "big three" might not be on the same level, there's no doubt that success will find them, and it could come in the form of the 2013 NBA title.