So, what happens to the great Steve Nash?

[LeHeat_Dynasty]

Quite obvious the Suns' recent trade is to shed Hedo's contract while also gaining Vince Carters non guaranteed 18 Million salary next year. Smart financial move TBH but its Sarver so we all know he's all about the money in his pocket.


At this point its pretty clear Nash will be traded. He's not going to stay to help Vince Carter, Grant Hill, Pietrus, Gortat and Hakkim Warrick inflate their stats.


Nash doesn't have a lot of options though. New York is obvious but Felton is playing so well. Celtics, Spurs, Mavs & the Heat are set with their ball handlers. Lakers could probably use Nash, but I dont know how kobe feels about playing with someone who has more MVP's than him. Chicago has Rose, OKC Thunder has Westbrook and the Jazz have Deron Williams.



So its either Atlanta or Denver.


Atlanta- The Hawks would flourish with a guy like Nash, I'm willing to bet they'll compete with the beast of the east if they can get someone that can run the point efficiently. Trade Jamal Crawfords expiring contract, and Mike Bibby's 6.4 million that will off the books next year. Players like Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Joe Johnson would explode under Nash's wing.



Denver- Nuggets should grab Nash as a last ditch effort to keep Melo. Trade Chauncey's useless butt. Even without Melo next year, I think Denver will have an explosive unit if Nash is running the point. Ty Lawson can back up Steve too. Imagine high flyers like JR Smith, Kenyon Martin and Chris Anderson with Nash. I'm willing to bet Nene, Al Harrington and Afflalo also improves when paired with Nash. The Nuggets can actually cover Steve Nash's deficiency in defense by surrounding him with defensive minded players. I think this will be a great move for Denver with or without Melo on Boards.

[pauls931]

I was always hoping he'd make it to Portland somehow, but they've imploded making them an unappealing target. Atlanta sounds interesting, but that's Joe Johnson's show. Not sure how'd the feel/mix.

Denver? Ugh, Melo is definitely out of there.

Knicks? I'd love to see that but not sure that Amare or even Dantoni would want Nash at this point. You'd essentially have rebuilt the 2006 phoenix suns.

[dbestpro]

I do not think it means that Nash will be traded at all. Out goes Hedo, Clark and Richardson. Hedo and Clark were going no where and Richardson is an on again off again 3 point shooter.

They got back Vince Carter who will replace Richardson at the SG and under rated Pietrus who can help spell Grant Hill at the SF. That alone would have made it a good deal, but then the Suns got a very capable starting center in Gortat. I would say the Suns definitely got better today.

Oh yeah, let's not forget the first round pick and cash that the Suns got. Congratulations Phoenix, it is one very good deal.

[IronMexican]

Vince isn't a guaranteed 18 million next year. Team option.

[Voice of Reason]

Nash doesn't have a lot of options though. New York is obvious but Felton is playing so well. Celtics, Spurs, Mavs & the Heat are set with their ball handlers. Lakers could probably use Nash, but I dont know how kobe feels about playing with someone who has more MVP's than him. Chicago has Rose, OKC Thunder has Westbrook and the Jazz have Deron Williams.

I think he'll feel okay, last time Kobe played with someone who had more mvp's than him they went on to win a couple championships.

[ducks]

yahoo says they have no plans to trade up

nash also only makes 11 million

[BRHornet45]

Nash has always been overrated simply because of his skin color. He accomplished next to nothing in Dallas, then gets traded to Phoenix where Amare carried him and all of a sudden he is voted MVP. don't get me wrong, Nash is a damn good point guard, but Amare was always the heart and soul of the Suns and the reason why Nash won MVP.

[rayjayjohnson]

I'd happily take Steve on the nuggs, but I'd worry about chauncey. Yes, it's inevitable they're gonna have to move him, but he's the heart and soul of the nuggets, and will undoubtedly end up working there, being from Colorado and all, but it's a bit cold to boot him. And if they dare move Ty Lawson... Call be a nuthugger all you want, but that boy got serious game. I know it's the timberwolves, but he carved them up down the Lane tonight. Pretty much the only good thing about that game, aside from k love's monster game.

[jag]

lol Ty Lawson the future of the Nuggets

[rayjayjohnson]

lol Ty Lawson the future of the Nuggets

Hey, I didn't say it was a particularly bright future...

[ajh18]

If Phoenix really wants to rebuild, they'll have to move Nash. He's good enough to keep them around .500, even with a crappy team around him.

I'd look at trading him to Toronto. Nash, Hill, and fillers for Peja, Ed Davis, and a first round pick (although this apparently couldn't happen until the end of January) might be worth considering.

The Suns get worse, but add a young big with potential and another first round pick. I believe that would give them three first round picks in next year's draft. They also get a lot of savings with Peja's deal. They could even buy out both Peja and Carter.

Toronto becomes a decent team in the East, with Nash getting to finish out his career in Canada.

Might be a good option for all involved.

[rayjayjohnson]

If Phoenix really wants to rebuild, they'll have to move Nash. He's good enough to keep them around .500, even with a crappy team around him.

I'd look at trading him to Toronto. Nash, Hill, and fillers for Peja, Ed Davis, and a first round pick (although this apparently couldn't happen until the end of January) might be worth considering.

The Suns get worse, but add a young big with potential and another first round pick. I believe that would give them three first round picks in next year's draft. They also get a lot of savings with Peja's deal. They could even buy out both Peja and Carter.

Toronto becomes be a decent team in the East, with Nash getting to finish out his career in Canada.

Might be a good option for all involved.

i like that. if stevie cant get on a contending team, finishing in toronto would be nice.

[BRHornet45]

I'd love to hear how Nash won his 2nd MVP the season Amare was injured if this racist trash was true.

that's easy ... Shawn Marion dropped right at 22 and 12 on a nightly basis that year.

[Jeremy]

I noticed that at the presser today, Babby refused to say they wouldn't trade Nash this season.

[Capt Bringdown]

Given the recent trend of the Lakers getting everything they need and then some, it wouldn't surprise me if Nash somehow ended up wearing the purple and gold.

[DJ Mbenga]

nash is a bargain. he is the only reason peopel go to the games anyways. sarver wants one thing. money in his pockets. if nash is gone there goes his $.

[KapitanTutan]

lol Ty Lawson the future of the Nuggets

plus gary forbes

no melo, no problem!

[Xylus]

There's no possible way Steve Nash is getting traded anytime soon. Sarver isn't the kind of guy who likes to blow things up and start again. Nash will remain with the Suns until the end of his contract.

[BUMP]

Nash has always been overrated simply because of his skin color. He accomplished next to nothing in Dallas, then gets traded to Phoenix where Amare carried him and all of a sudden he is voted MVP. don't get me wrong, Nash is a damn good point guard, but Amare was always the heart and soul of the Suns and the reason why Nash won MVP.

nkN3zZ-WEYo

[LeHeat_Dynasty]

I'd happily take Steve on the nuggs, but I'd worry about chauncey. Yes, it's inevitable they're gonna have to move him, but he's the heart and soul of the nuggets, and will undoubtedly end up working there, being from Colorado and all, but it's a bit cold to boot him. And if they dare move Ty Lawson... Call be a nuthugger all you want, but that boy got serious game. I know it's the timberwolves, but he carved them up down the Lane tonight. Pretty much the only good thing about that game, aside from k love's monster game.


Ty Lawson is good, but given a chance to trade for a guy like Nash, the Nuggets would be irresponsible to turn that down.

And as far as moving Chauncey, I don't think it will be a big issue, he's a class act and is certainly one of those people who knows the business side of it all. A lot of players who have worked for the front office were moved at one point of their career anyway. i think a three way deal of Steve Nash to the Nuggets, Billups to Charlotte (Larry Brown Connection) and Gerald Wallace to Phoenix could work.


I like the idea of Nash retiring in Toronto but TBH between Toronto and Phoenix, he's better off expiring his contract in Arizona then sign with another contender in 2 years for the sake of his legacy, if he ever cares about that. Who knows, the Mavs may choke again this year and Jason Kidd and Cuban may finally part ways (unlikely) in that event I think Nash reuniting with Dirk is a viable option.

[Spurs Brazil]

Deal Nash next? Suns owner scoffsEmail Print Comments34 By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
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Jennifer Stewart/US Presswire
With a blockbuster trade complete, Steve Nash will be leading a new group of Suns on the floor soon.
Steve Nash was smiling freely late Friday night, feeling as fortunate as he ever has with the Phoenix Suns, genuinely looking happier than he had ever been to be standing in a hallway surrounded by a pack of media pests.



"At least I can walk," Nash said.



He wasn't kidding, either.



Earlier in the evening, Nash endured the scariest episode of his athletic life, less than five minutes into the first quarter of his nationally televised reunion with the Dallas Mavericks and old friend Dirk Nowitzki. The face of the Suns ran head-first into Tyson Chandler's hip in a chase for a loose ball and was immediately floored by a football-type stinger that briefly robbed him of all feeling in his arms and legs.



"I had 10 seconds where I thought, 'Oh, s---,'" Nash said. "I couldn't feel anything and my head was stuck."



Moral of the story: After a no-joke scare like that -- quickly as it seemingly passed on TV -- Nash couldn't muster sustained outrage about the Suns' current plight or Saturday's trade surrender of a Jason Richardson to Orlando even if he wanted to.



Furthermore ...



Even a month from now, long after Nash's expected comeback Sunday or Monday and when the collision with Chandler has faded a little further into his memory, I wouldn't expect him to march upstairs and dish a trade-me demand.



Not his style. Not his way.



Is he frustrated by how far Phoenix has fallen since its Cinderella trip to the Western Conference finals last season? Deeply disappointed that the Suns give up the popular J-Rich in attempt to undo the mistake of acquiring Hedo Turkoglu in July? He won't say so publicly, but those are safe guesses.



Those closest to Nash say he's undeniably irked by some of the decision-making seen from the Suns since Steve Kerr left the franchise in June, when philosophical differences and prickly contract negotiations with owner Robert Sarver convinced Kerr to return to the broadcast realm with TNT.



In the weeks that followed -- and in an apparent attempt to prove to the world that he wasn't unwilling to spend his money -- Sarver reacted to the free-agent defection of Amare Stoudemire to New York by sanctioning the acquisitions of Turkoglu, Josh Childress and Hakim Warrick after the pricy re-signing of Channing Frye. Nash actually said he understood when Sarver, given Stoudemire's injury history, didn't want to guarantee more than three max years of the five Amare eventually received from the New York Knicks worth a tidy $100 million ... but shock, confusion and derision were almost universal reactions leaguewide when Turkoglu and Childress were brought in as Stoudemire's primary replacements.



Doing nothing after Stoudemire left would have been better. That became clear when the Suns were forced to part with Richardson to help persuade the Magic to take back Turkoglu. And it's doubly clear given what we're seeing with (and hearing about) Childress, who can't get off Alvin Gentry's bench and, according to NBA front-office sources, is already being shopped by the Suns. Shopped without success.



One of Nash's gifts, though, is the ability to tune out all the chatter about his résumé, legacy, defensive deficiencies, etc. He chose security and comfort over ring-chasing when he agreed to a two-year extension with the Suns that just kicked in this season and has said countless times since -- long before he ever had an inkling of what last season's squad was capable of -- that playing where he's happy and working with teammates (Grant Hill) and coaches (Gentry) he loves is enough.



Asked in June during that epic Western Conference finals series with the Lakers how unfulfilled he'll feel if he never plays a single game in the NBA Finals, Nash said: "You know, I won't. I think people see when I take the court [that] I play as though I want nothing more. I go hard every night and I absolutely love to compete. I want nothing more than to get there, but life is full of a lot. And basketball is just one component of it.



"I happen to be a little bit obsessed with it, but I need to sometimes have a realistic approach to my career and say, 'Hey, if I don't win it all that doesn't mean I didn't give it every effort to do so.' I'll be disappointed, but I won't feel unfulfilled or incomplete. It'll just be the way I turned out."



Those same folks closest to Nash will swear to you he means what he says, no matter how hard critics slam him for settling whenever he talks about staying with the Suns instead of trying to force his way to a contender with legit championship credentials. You can't find anyone in Nash's circle who expects him to try to manufacture an exit anytime soon -- even when there are fans out there who say they'd understand -- given how secure he is with his place in the game and his deep bond with the likes of fellow thirtysomething Hill.



Back in June, when asked if he's unnerved by the claim that a two-time MVP has underachieved without a single NBA Finals appearance, Nash said: "I don't mind if that's what people think."



Then pointing to the well-chronicled fact he had only one Division I scholarship offer coming out of high school on a small island outpost off the west coast of Canada, Nash added: "I think I've probably exceeded everyone's expectations in my career."

The flip side to all that, of course, is that Sarver wouldn't consider trading Nash now whether or not he makes a formal request. Teams that call about him these days are always met with a stern and discouraging no . If that ever changes, figure that Sarver would only dare give in during the offseason, when the Suns' already on-edge fan base isn't quite as tuned in.



Sarver scoffed at the mere suggestion of trading Nash and starting over when reached Saturday by ESPN.com, insisting instead that the acquisitions of mobile big man Marcin Gortat and defensive specialist Mickael Pietrus were made largely to make the Suns bigger and better defensively and make his point guard's life easier.



Said Sarver: "This deal has nothing to do with [trading] Nash. We have no intention to trade him."



I tend to believe him, too. This is not Ted Leonsis spouting hollow platitudes about Gilbert Arenas' ability to mentor John Wall in a transparent attempt by the Wizards' new owner to try to build up Arenas' trade value. This is an owner who knows Nash is not only a deeply revered living legend in the desert but also his only ticket-seller.



As one team insider said: "It would be like the Colts trading Peyton Manning. Sarver doesn't want to be that guy."



So he's trying this. He's banking on the fragile/fading Carter to be rejuvenated by the Suns' vaunted athletic training staff and replicate what Richardson gave them, Gortat and Pietrus reaching new levels of productivity once they're exposed to the famed Nash Effect and perhaps a further upgrade to the roster if Phoenix can unexpectedly find a taker for Childress.



None of the above will stop very interested teams like the Blazers, Rockets and, yes, probably the Knicks from testing the Suns' resolve with renewed attempts to steal Nash away with trade offers. Yet you couldn't find anyone close to the pulse of Sarver's latest attempt (of many) at a shakeup trade who was prepared to predict that Nash will be next to depart.



Come April 10, when Nash and the rest of the Suns are due back in Dallas at the site of The Stinger, if he's not in Phoenix colors? It'd be an absolute shocker.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=steinsunsdeal-101218

[pauls931]

Is he frustrated by how far Phoenix has fallen since its Cinderella trip to the Western Conference finals last season? Deeply disappointed that the Suns give up the popular J-Rich in attempt to undo the mistake of acquiring Hedo Turkoglu in July? He won't say so publicly, but those are safe guesses.

I'd be willing to say 99 out of 100 people would say acquiring Hedo would be a mistake before he set floor in a suns uniform.... Sarver pretty much guaranteed the undoing of the suns with that trade. Makes me wonder if it was intentional to enable him to dismantle the team?

[dbestpro]

Nash has always been overrated simply because of his skin color. He accomplished next to nothing in Dallas, then gets traded to Phoenix where Amare carried him and all of a sudden he is voted MVP. don't get me wrong, Nash is a damn good point guard, but Amare was always the heart and soul of the Suns and the reason why Nash won MVP.

If Amare was the heart and soul of the Suns then we now understand why they never advanced to the finals. They had no soul.

[LeHeat_Dynasty]

Yeah, I agree. In no way, shape and form Amare epitomized the Heart or Soul of the Phoenix Suns. Their success was really more Nash and D'Antoni.


Another good desitination for Nash is Portland. Trade Miller a filler and some 1st rounders for Nash.

[Xylus]

Yeah, I agree. In no way, shape and form Amare epitomized the Heart or Soul of the Phoenix Suns. Their success was really more Nash and D'Antoni.

D'Antoni was more important to the Suns than Amare? Are you insane?



Another good desitination for Nash is Portland. Trade Miller a filler and some 1st rounders for Nash.

So Roy complains about a PG who handles most of the ball-handling duties, so you satisfy him by bringing in a PG who dominates the ball even more?