Steve Nash Trade Speculation: 10 Teams He Would Fit Best on Next Season
The Phoenix Suns are in a delicate position heading into their last summer with Steve Nash. It's clear that the Suns are destined for a rebuilding phase because Nash can't play forever. As Nash approaches free agency and possibly retirement, the Suns would be wise to trade him for pieces before they lose him for nothing.
Nash, the 14-year vet, has $11.7 million and one year left to play with Phoenix. He will turn 38 next season and might not trouble himself to sign another NBA contract.
The Suns will have a truckload of cap space in the summer of 2012, totaling nearly $30 million. They can tie up some of that by bringing in players traded for Nash, or they can take their cap space into the free agent market, where contract rules might look dramatically different than they do right now.
Teams on the periphery of contention should line up to strike for Nash while they can. Not only is he a fantastic floor general and locker room presence, he drives attention and ticket sales.
Here are 10 teams that Nash would fit best with next season, qualified by most trade assets, cap flexibility and team makeup.
Charlotte Bobcats
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The Cap: $49.9 million for 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash for D.J. Augustin, Gerald Henderson and Tyrus Thomas
The Reason: Charlotte's new emphasis on running with head coach Paul Silas goes hand-in-hand with Nash's game. Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw both get much better with Nash feeding them and running their offense instead of Augustin.
Phoenix could choose to let Augustin go or re-sign him after he expires in 2012, while Henderson would be under contract through 2013 and Thomas through 2015 for roughly $9 million total. The cap commitment is low enough that the Suns could still afford to bring in guard help or another big man, which they would presumably do.
Toronto Raptors
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The Cap: $45.0 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Three-way deal between Suns, Raptors and Kings:
Steve Nash and Jason Thompson to the Raptors
Andrea Bargnani, Beno Udrih and the Raptors' 2012 first-rounder to the Suns
Jose Calderon and Josh Childress
The Reason: Phoenix gets a shooting center who can do more than one thing, unlike Channing Frye, and a serviceable point guard with two years left at $13 million. They find a place for Josh Childress' mistake of a contract with cap-happy Sacramento, while the Kings get a true starting point guard in Calderon. Finally, the Kings can stop deluding themselves about Tyreke Evans being a point guard.
On to Nash. Jay Triano coaches much like Alvin Gentry: play minimal defense, fast break and shoot as fast as possible. Nash wouldn't have to change his style one bit to adapt in Toronto, and he'd have super athletes Demar Derozan, Ed Davis, Amir Johnson and Leandro Barbosa to run with.
This Toronto team must embrace its fast-breaking philosophy and not try to temper it or bite off more than it can chew by trying to play defense. When the Raptors fail to do those things, they end up going 22-60.
Utah Jazz
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The Cap: $51.9 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash, Hakim Warrick and a second-round pick for Devin Harris and Derrick Favors.
The Reason: The Suns save about $3 million in the short term, but lock up two young building blocks for at least two years. Harris' salary actually decreases in his walk year of 2012-2013, so the salary and length commitments are not harsh.
The Jazz accept that they are rebuilding, accumulate an expiring contract and draft pick to build around Al Jefferson. Nash would love the pick and roll potential with Jefferson and Mehmet Okur's outside shooting.
Los Angeles Clippers
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The Cap: $44.9 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash and a first-round pick for Eric Bledsoe, Al-Farouq Aminu and Randy Foye
The Reason: The Clippers are happy to give up a couple of their contributing, though expendable, pieces to gain a superstar to pair with Blake Griffin for a year. The team doesn't have a place for Foye with Mo Williams and Bledsoe, and Aminu didn't really get a chance to display his game during his rookie year.
The Suns take three young and talented role players. The arrival of three guards is much needed for a team that rosters 36 small forwards and centers and very few guards. Bledsoe gets a fair chance to compete for a starting job with Aaron Brooks, while Foye is asked to do nothing but score when he subs in.
Both Aminu and Bledsoe are under contract for three years more, so the team outlook and cap situation both improve, while the Clippers get even more cap room cleared if Nash expires after next year.
Detroit Pistons
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The Cap: $48.2 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash, Hakim Warrick and $4 million for Greg Monroe, Charlie Villanueva, Will Bynum, Terrico White and a first-round pick.
The Reason: Monroe gives Phoenix a blossoming young post player, which they don't currently have, and Villanueva instantly becomes a starter for Alvin Gentry. Bynum's contract expires after two seasons, while Villanueva and Monroe have three years left, which means Phoenix can get its money's worth out of them. The trade of Warrick signals that signing him to that ridiculous contract was a huge mistake for the Suns.
Detroit trades a contract that they regret as well in Villanueva's. They infuse some excitement into their moribund franchise with Nash, while keeping scorers Richard Hamilton and Ben Gordon to supplement. Whatever the Pistons can get out of Warrick will be a plus, given the weakness they have in the post without Monroe.
Detroit would be setting itself up for major cap flexibility in 2013 with Nash coming off the books and getting out from under Villanueva. The trade for Nash provides competition for Rodney Stuckey, who they would be smart to offer a contract to this July. They could move Stuckey off the point and free themselves up to trade Gordon or Hamilton for draft picks or young pieces. Then, after Nash leaves, they can move Stuckey back to the point and make him the offensive focal point.
Sacramento Kings
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The Cap: $27.6 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash and Hakim Warrick for Beno Udrih, Francisco Garcia and Omri Casspi
The Reason: The Kings are on thin ice, needing some way to drum up some support and excitement for the team in the California state capital. Nash could push Tyreke Evans off the ball where he belongs, but free him up to run. He and DeMarcus Cousins would love playing together, and the financial commitment for the cash-strapped Maloofs isn't substantial.
The Suns fill in their roster with serviceable guards who are all under contract through June 2013 and have contributed to the Kings before. Casspi shoots, Garcia does a bit of everything and Udrih protects the ball and hits open shots.
Denver Nuggets
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The Cap: $40.1 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash and a first-round pick for Ty Lawson, Timofey Mozgov and Wilson Chandler
The Reason: Is there any better team for Nash to play for than Denver? The Nuggets led the league in pace and points scored this year, which is tailored to his most effective way of playing. He'd play with J.R. Smith (if re-signed), Kenyon Martin, Danilo Gallinari and Nene with Ray Felton, Chris Andersen and Arron Afflalo off the bench. That's a pretty formidable eight-man rotation that would still be well under the cap.
The impetus for the Suns is obvious; Chandler is a cheap role player who shines in fast-paced systems. Mozgov has great size and potential, though he hasn't panned out quiet yet. If he gets a couple years in the right environment to develop, he could be a 28-minute-per-game player. Lawson is the centerpiece of Phoenix's haul. A lightning-fast point guard who can shoot and pass, Felton could get the fast-breaking, quick-shooting Suns to play even faster.
With all three players signed for at least two years at cheap prices, the Suns could return to the playoffs quicker than imagined.
Minnesota Timberwolves
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The Cap: $42.4 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash for Luke Ridnour, Anthony Randolph and Darko Milicic
The Reason: The Wolves definitively solve their point guard problems, while giving Jonny Flynn time to develop. They trim the fat of their roster and shed a pair of contracts that would be giving them stomach ulcers by 2014.
The Suns like this because they get a solid guard in Ridnour who never tries to do to much, but is fully capable of running a team. Milicic gives the Suns a nice pair of centers for the first time in recent memory. Darko is a defensive-minded big who can play when the Suns absolutely need to get stops. Anthony Randolph is a slight gamble, but the commitment to him is minimal, and the reward could be huge if he somehow figures out how to play.
Orlando Magic
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The Cap: $74.8 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Three-way deal between Suns, Magic and Rockets
Steve Nash to the Magic
Chris Duhon, Brandon Bass and Terrence Williams to the Suns
Quentin Richardson to the Rockets
The Reason: After toiling for a few years, Chris Duhon broke out as the starter for the Knicks a few years ago, averaging over eight assists per game on a breakneck team. The move to Orlando buried him beneath two other point guards in a half-court system, which has rendered him unimportant. Getting back to a fast pace to which he can contribute might give him the revitalization his career needs. Brandon Bass is a strong piece, but doesn't get to play in Orlando because Ryan Anderson and Hedo Turkoglu suck up all the forward minutes.
The Magic are stuck in the good, but not great of the Eastern Conference. The roster they have now is incapable of beating the Bulls, Celtics or Heat, even after GM Otis Smith's big shakeup in December. Nash represents a last-ditch effort to break through to the Finals and get a championship before Dwight Howard declines his option and tests free agency. The Magic are already $17 million over the cap heading into 2011-2012, so why not take on a bit more to add Nash?
The Rockets enter the fray to simply get Steve Nash out of the Western Conference.
Memphis Grizzlies
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The Cap: $36.1 million in 2011-2012
The Trade: Steve Nash for Mike Conley and O.J. Mayo
The Reason: The Suns receive two young and affordable players to shore up their perimeter deficiencies. The experience that Conley and Mayo are getting while playing for Memphis in the playoffs right now could ready them to become leaders on an aging Suns team. Conley is the long-term replacement for Nash and could blossom in an environment with less structure.
The Grizzlies' roster is stuffed with talent; the playoff run they made and the success they're having against the Spurs is even more impressive when you remember that Rudy Gay, their best player, has missed all of it with injury. Sometimes, the talent that Memphis throws out there makes you forget that Gay is on the team. When Gay returns, there won't be minutes for Mayo, Tony Allen, Xavier Henry, Sam Young and Shane Battier. One or two of them needs to be traded, and Mayo was the one they tried to deal this season.
Throw Nash out there with Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Gay and Tony Allen and you've got a very, very compelling lineup.
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