Anyone interested in a 38-year-old point guard who has a chronic back condition and is a defensive liability? Apparently, half of the NBA is. We can’t blame them either. One year after nearly leading the league in assists per game (again), Steve Nash will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and while his loyalty is celebrated, Nash has given signs he wants to win a championship. With the Suns, that’s not going to happen. Obviously. So you figure Nash needs to go somewhere this summer to play deep into the playoffs, and now it’s being reported Phoenix and its point guard could make common cause to help each other out.
HOOPSWORLD reports that if both parties know a separation is unavoidable, the “franchise would help facilitate a sign and trade deal to insure Steve gets the maximum dollars for his services and the Suns get something in return for him.”
What does this mean? Nash (who wants a three-year deal) will get his true value – Phoenix is going to offer a multi-year deal around $10 million a season to try to get him to stay – on the open market because the dollar amount won’t matter as much. This could open the door for a team like the Knicks who don’t have much financial flexibility, but do have every reason to try to obtain Nash. In fact, it opens the door for pretty much anyone. Nash is fair game now.
While I would love to see Nash back in Dallas or in Manhattan helping those dysfunctional Knicks realize their potential, he also knows he owes a lot of his sustained success to Phoenix’s training staff. Since injuring his back in his early Dallas days, Nash has suffered from spondylolisthesis, which is when a vertebrae slips out of place. Earlier this season, he explained to me all the steps he now has to take to keep himself healthy, everything from constant stretching to his sugar-free diet to knowing how long and how hard he can play. It seems mentally grueling, but it’s the only way to keep him going.
Still, a lot of the credit needs to go to that training staff. They extended Nash’s prime not just beyond what Mark Cuban expected, but beyond what even Suns fans expected.
Half of the NBA will be coming after Nash. Hopefully, he picks the right home.
Where do you want to see Nash end up?
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