Steve Nash and Ray Allen Reveal Variety of Motivations Driving NBA Free Agency

Trying to pin down precisely what makes an NBA star tick is a futile endeavor more often than not. So often it seems as though the psychology of a supremely confident, multi-millionaire athlete and that of the average citizen contrast more than night and day.

After all, how many average Joes and Janes know what it's like to be showered with attention by thousands of complete strangers, packed into charter planes and five-star hotels, paraded around on national TV every other night and paid unspeakable sums of money to play a game?

And, frankly, anyone interested in understanding the whole story doesn't usually have enough information about any given situation at his or her disposal to render a fair and complete evaluation. Instead, we're typically left to either cast judgment based on puddle-deep reports on TV and the Internet or give up trying to walk in shoes far too big for our feet. 

Yet when push comes to shove and negotiations get down to brass tacks, the priorities and desires of pro basketball players—particularly those seeking employment via free agency—aren't always all that inconsistent with those that motivate most other human beings.

Just look at the decisions of Steve Nash and Ray Allen, two future Hall of Famers who will wind up playing not just for new teams, but their previous teams' archrivals. Albeit after vastly different courtships and resulting from unique thought processes.

The End and the Beginning

Nash's situation with the Phoenix Suns was a far cry from that between Allen and the Boston Celtics. The Suns came into the summer looking for a fresh start after essentially squandering the last two seasons of Nash's tenure in Arizona. Owner Robert Sarver and general manager Lance Blanks, hoping to keep ticket sales brisk and avoid incurring the wrath of Suns fans, had been reluctant to trade the two-time MVP unless he came to them with a trade request.

And, given Nash's comfort with the Suns amidst the team's slow decline, that wasn't about to happen. As ESPN's Marc Stein notes in his illuminating recap of Nash's free agency, he might've even taken less money to stay. He seemed to genuinely enjoy living and playing in Phoenix, and the thought of moving away from his children never enticed Nash.

Allen, on the other hand, was very much a priority for the Celtics. As crushing as it was to lose to the Miami Heat in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals, the C's were encouraged by the way they pushed the eventual champs with a threadbare roster. If GM Danny Ainge could simply get the band back together and beef up the reserves a bit, Boston just might find itself back in the NBA Finals for the third time since 2008.

In the middle of that was Allen, whose bum ankle had added another "what if?" to the mix. The C's allegedly offered Allen more money to stay ($12 million over two years) than anyone else did, even after handing out $34 million to Kevin Garnett and $15 million to Jason Terry.

Clearly then, Allen had the option to stay in a community in which he'd set down strong roots and raised thousands of dollars for the Joslin Diabetes Center, where his son Walker receives treatment for Type 1 diabetes.

But where Nash was more than willing to ignore problems on the court and within the organization to stay close to his family, Allen apparently was not. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Allen felt slighted by the Celtics' willingness to include him in trade talks and bench him when Avery Bradley emerged as a viable starter.

Not to mention what might've been the biggest deterrent of all: Allen's ice-cold relationship with All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo.

And so, Allen hit the road in search of a new home.

Wined and Dined

Like Allen, Nash fielded his most lucrative offer from an Eastern Conference squad in a locale to which he has strong ties: the Toronto Raptors.

Nash grew up in Canada, is the general manager of the Canadian national basketball team, and has long been cheered vociferously by Raptors fans whenever he's come to play in Toronto. Those factors—along with a $36 million offer and a full-court press from a Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo, who was responsible for bringing Nash back to Phoenix and had the brilliant idea to have Wayne Gretzky narrate a pitch video—put the Raptors firmly into the mix at the outset.

But, as much as Nash's Canadian connections were trumped up, it was all too easy to forget that he was from Victoria Island, a small community in British Columbia that might as well have been a world away from Toronto. What's more, the Raptors were in no position to compete for a title right away, with or without a 38-year-old "favorite son" on their side.

Neither were the New York Knicks—though they were decidedly closer to that echelon and could still offer Nash around $27 million in a sign-and-trade with Phoenix—who had eyes for promising rookie Iman Shumpert in return. The Knicks could also entice Nash with their proximity to his offseason home in Tribeca and, if not the chance to contend for a championship, the opportunity to reunite with former Suns teammate Amar'e Stoudemire and join forces with fellow All-Stars Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler.

Even if it meant spending most of the year thousands of miles away from his family in Phoenix, just as the case would've been had he taken the bait in Toronto. That conundrum left the door ajar just enough for the hated Los Angeles Lakers to sneak in a foot disguised as a three-year, $27 million offer.

The Miami Heat needed no such surreptitious opening to lure Ray Allen to South Beach. They were at the forefront of Allen's courtship from the get-go, even after ousting his Celtics in consecutive postseasons. There were even rumblings about Allen taking his talents elsewhere at the end of the Eastern Conference finals, when he reportedly gave LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh surprisingly cordial congratulations, as if he were making an all-too-obvious attempt to reach across the aisle.

The Los Angeles Clippers were a dark horse in the Jesus Shuttlesworth sweepstakes until they signed Jamal Crawford and canceled their meeting with Allen. So too were the Minnesota Timberwolves, though only as a longshot of last resort.

Still, for all intents and purposes, it was always going to be a choice between Boston and Miami for Ray.

Benedict Arnold?

And since both teams could afford to sign him outright, there would be no need to involve another party to make a deal work.

Nash, though, wasn't so fortunate. He and his agent, Bill Duffy, had to beg and plead Suns owner Robert Sarver to bless a sign-and-trade deal that would've landed Nash in the hated hues of Purple and Gold in exchange for a four-pack of draft picks and $3 million in cash.

Sarver's dilemma was less about letting Nash go (he hadn't planned to re-sign him anyway) and more about being a villain, charged with aiding and abetting a supposed traitor by Phoenix's court of public opinion.

For Allen, the cross of betraying the Boston faithful would be his alone to bear, even if the Celts' hands weren't exactly clean through the whole thing.

In both cases, though, the threat of backlash wasn't enough to deter the player's desire to side with the enemy. Nash wanted to stay close to his kids and got his wish with the help of some sweet talk from his agent. Allen's decision came after some serious soul searching, with sunnier climes, the feeling of truly being wanted and, of course, Pat Riley's way with words prevailing.

Deviations aside, Nash and Allen—two surefire Hall of Famers on their last legs—ultimately took less money to bolster title contenders, one in the West and one in the East. On the surface then, their choices seem remarkably similar and may well be judged as such by fans, of teams spurned and teams rewarded and casual observers alike.

However, at the root of each pact—as with any and every move in free agency—was a distinct set of circumstances, material, emotional and otherwise.

Because in the end, our heroes are human beings too, even if they might not seem like it, with cares, concerns and interests with which just about any average Joe or Jane can identify.

With the proper information in hand, of course.

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