Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki: Phoenix Suns of 2010-2011?

I will start by saying that there are a lot of factors that will affect the title statement of this article. Everything from contracts to leadership, age, location, and loyalty will play major factors in the decision that Dirk Nowitzki will make this summer. 

I am a firm believer that Dallas will keep Dirk Nowitzki for the remainder of his career, and give him the ability to play next to another all-star.  However, I thought it would be interesting to explore the scenario in which Nowitzki moves to Phoenix to play with his best friend, Steve Nash.

Amare Stoudemire will most likely opt out of his contract to avoid the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, as well as to pursue a maximum five-year contract. With the way he has been playing in the playoffs, I can assure you that he will get one.

That leaves Phoenix with the option of re-signing him to a max deal, and making him the face of the franchise, or exploring other possibilities. One of these possibilities is to sign Nowitzki and try to contend for a championship over the next two years while keeping the core that brought them to the Western Conference finals this year almost intact.

Does this make the Phoenix Suns better? Yes, it does. It makes them better not necessarily because Dirk is better than Amare (something I will not discuss since they are very different players, and should not be compared), but because of the way the team could benefit from the change.

The Phoenix Suns have shown that they are a good team. They can play against anyone, and they will be able to for a long time. Their bench has been phenomenal and the development of Goran Dragic and Robin Lopez has opened eyes throughout the league (and they will be Suns for a while).

The development of Lopez will be accelerated if Nowitzki is part of their front-line.

With Dirk pulling defenses out of the box, Lopez would have more freedom to execute a pick and roll since Dirk will be a threat on the perimeter.  If you have been watching the playoffs recently, you have noticed that Lopez is starting to run Nash-Amare-like plays.

By the time the playoffs come next season, I would not be surprised if Lopez is averaging, or close to averaging, a double-double with 15-plus points per game.

On the other hand, Dragic could benefit from Dirk out of the paint since he has shown incredible ability to get to the paint and finish.

With so much attention being given to Dirk on the perimeter, Dragic can exploit defenses and finish, or in a worst case scenario kick it out to any open shooter (or a single covered Dirk).

Many things can go right for the Phoenix Suns with this proposed scenario, and few things can go wrong. In my opinion, if Phoenix is to lose Stoudemire this summer, the first name on the list should be Nowitzki.

Who knows? If they play their cards right, and Nash can help in luring him to Phoenix, Dirk Nowitzki might play for less, and make me write a whole new article!

Do you agree? Disagree? Comment away!