5 NBA Teams Who Make More Sense for Steve Nash's Final Season Than LA Lakers
Steve Nash is still on the Los Angeles Lakers, and it's likely he remains in a purple-and-gold uniform throughout the 2014-15 campaign.
In fact, he may even be a starter.
Per the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina, head coach Byron Scott currently has Nash working into the depth chart as a first-string point guard, suiting up alongside Kobe Bryant, Wesley Johnson, Carlos Boozer and Jordan Hill at the start of games.
It's hard to imagine the aging point guard getting more playing time in a different location, but that isn't necessarily what should be most important to him at this stage of his career.
In a perfect world, Nash would finish up the NBA portion of his life in a different locale.
Even though he's been on the Lakers for two seasons prior to this one, it still doesn't feel as though he belongs in the organization. Injuries have just prevented him from gaining too much momentum, and it's tough to picture this aged version of the former MVP over the offensively dynamic one of the past.
Even if he rebounds nicely during the 2014-15 season, thriving with the Lakers for the first time, there are still five destinations that—for various reasons we'll get to in the coming slides—stand out as better locations.
Dallas Mavericks
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Remember this?
Steve Nash broke out with the Dallas Mavericks during the early portion of his career, leading the charge for some of the greatest offenses of all time. In fact, the 2003-04 Mavericks, which featured Nash at the point, stand out statistically as the top point-scoring unit in NBA history.
It may be time for a long-overdue encore.
After all, Nash has consistently proved himself capable of spurring on offensive-minded teams, and there's no doubt that's the mentality of this Dallas squad. It should stand out as one of the NBA's premier scoring bunches if not the absolute No. 1 in that category.
Having another capable point guard can only help.
If Nash is able to turn back time and spark an offense even for a few minutes per game, he'll further strengthen Rick Carlisle's system, giving the team a player with incredible floor vision who already boasts some established chemistry with Dirk Nowitzki. He obviously wouldn't play huge minutes, but with Raymond Felton, Jameer Nelson and Devin Harris all on the roster, it's not as though he'd need to.
It's a stylistic fit just as much as it's an emotional one.
Indiana Pacers
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The Indiana Pacers offense is in big trouble.
Lance Stephenson leaving for the Charlotte Hornets was already problematic enough, and losing Paul George to that brutal leg injury was a devastating blow, one from which Indiana won't be able to recover without some outside help.
Devoid of the only incumbent shot-creators on the roster, the Pacers are now going to be relying heavily on Rodney Stuckey to create his own looks on a nightly basis, and that's a terrifying prospect. No one on the Pacers stands out as a skilled distributor, nor are there players outside of Stuckey (and an aging Luis Scola) who can consistently score unassisted buckets.
And that's where Nash could come into the picture.
There are few potential playoff squads around the Association that really have a distinct need for his services. He'd be a backup on most every one, and he might not even earn that large a role on some of the depth charts. But with the Pacers, he'd provide a new offensive element, one that could—at least occasionally—help get the lackluster scorers off the schneid.
Even in his advancing age, Nash still has incredible vision. When healthy, he's still capable of distributing the ball out to open teammates, creating lanes where there seemingly aren't any.
Indiana is bound to be a great defensive squad once more. If it can squeeze any more production out of its offense, well, isn't that a risk worth taking?
Phoenix Suns
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This is all about sentiment.
There's no disrespect meant toward Nash with this next statement, but he's not going to bring much to the Phoenix Suns at this stage of his career. The team already has Goran Dragic, Isaiah Thomas and Tyler Ennis on the books, and it will likely have Eric Bledsoe as well, though the talented floor general might be a tad disgruntled throughout the 2014-15 campaign.
Even with Jeff Hornacek's sideline stylings, which often involve two point guards on the court at the same time so everything can be run through the 1-guards, the Suns are ready for battle. Nash can provide insurance in case the injuries pile up, as they're sometimes wont to do, but—assuming Bledsoe returns—there's no chance he's anything more than the fourth-best floor general on the roster.
Does it matter? It shouldn't at this point.
While speaking with Bill Simmons on a Grantland podcast (h/t Bleacher Report's Dylan Murphy) during the 2013-14 season, Nash was asked about how he left the Suns and was alerted to the irony of exiting right before he had a chance to play for Hornacek, an experience he surely would have enjoyed.
"Oh absolutely, and playing for Horny," the future Hall of Famer said. "He's a guy that I've known a long time, that I really like and it would be a lot of fun."
Additionally, Nash is best known for his work with the Suns. In the desert, he won two MVP trophies, established himself as the unquestioned leader of one of the best and most glamorous offenses of all time and became somewhat of a cult hero. He was insanely popular and for good reason.
He might have been born in South Africa. He might be Canadian, both by heritage and through his experiences over the course of his entire life.
But he's still got Phoenix flowing through his veins.
There's no better place for him to finish his career, even if he'd have a minuscule shot at a ring and few opportunities for playing time during this twilight stage.
San Antonio Spurs
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There's one hole in Steve Nash's resume.
During the regular season, he's done just about everything you could imagine from an offensive-minded point guard. He's put up ridiculous statistics, joined the 50/40/90 club, made All-Star teams, won MVP twice and so much more.
But when it comes to the playoffs, he's had more trouble finding success.
Throughout his career, Nash has averaged 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game during postseason festivities. He's been to the Western Conference Finals on four separate occasions, though he's never been able to get past that hump and experience the joy (or sinking pain, depending on the outcome) of the NBA Finals.
By my estimations, the only players with similar resumes who haven't made it to that stage of the playoffs are, well, no one.
He could change that with the San Antonio Spurs, even if he'd only be a minor contributor to the cause. Still, when the prime of your career is spent fruitlessly, a ring you weren't a key piece for is still a ring.
I don't think you'd have much success convincing Adam Morrison that his titles are meaningless, nor would Juwan Howard take kindly to intimations that he doesn't deserve the championship he won with the Miami Heat.
The Spurs are already in good shape, boasting a point guard rotation that features Tony Parker, Patty Mills, Cory Joseph and Bryce Cotton, who should not be slept on during his rookie season. But when has Gregg Popovich ever been one to turn down a reclamation project with this much promise?
The things Nash could do in a Spurs system—even if it would be more than strange to see him suit up for Phoenix's primary rival during the mid-2000s—are hard to even comprehend.
Toronto Raptors
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When Steve Nash was a free agent during the summer of 2012, the Toronto Raptors offered him a three-year, $36 million deal. It wasn't enough to bring him there, as the team was still trying to move into the realm of contenders, and Nash was then most interested in figuring out how to find some postseason success.
At the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Toronto was floated as a possible trade destination for Nash, per Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy. Then again, as Christopher Walder wrote for Bleacher Report, it was probably a good thing that didn't happen:
"The idea of making a trade for Steve Nash has been tossed around for the past couple of years, but is now the time for the Toronto Raptors to make one final push for the Canadian basketball icon?
No.
It's as simple as that.
"
Figuring out the specifics of a deal that would bring him to town could be rather difficult, but it would certainly do wonders for the team's popularity. A mingling of the premier Canadian basketball star and the only Canadian NBA franchise is just too much to pass up for a playoff team that still only finished 18th in home-attendance percentage, per ESPN.com's figures.
Would Nash give a huge on-court boost? Not with Kyle Lowry, Greivis Vasquez and Lou Williams all capable of running the point and Will Cherry waiting in the wings.
But this can be a business move. Drake would take all of five days to come out with a Nash-related single.
This veteran point guard has been trusted with the torch at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. He's a national hero, and it's hard to imagine a better feel-good story than him providing experience-induced leadership for an extremely young contender in the Eastern Conference.
