Nash deal shouldn't be criticized
With Steve Nash and Grant Hill, there could be no better duo to mentor and shape a new era of Suns basketball.
by Dan Bickley - Jul. 28, 2009 07:48 PM
The Arizona Republic
Go ahead. Tear down Steve Nash. Pick apart his defense. Question his value. Show your ignorance to the rest of the basketball world.
Three years ago, Nash became the only two-time NBA MVP in the history of the Suns. Considering his stature and physical limitations, it was one of the more-remarkable feats in league history. Everyone in Arizona loved him back then.
Now, many fans seem to think he's overpaid, overrated and a bad investment for a team with zero chance to win a championship in the near future. Some even call him a liability.
These are the same people who drove Mike D'Antoni to the brink of insanity.
"I feel as fit and as athletic as I've ever been," Nash said.
When Nash agreed to a two-year extension with the Suns, the skepticism began anew. Nash was giving up his last chance to chase that elusive NBA championship. He was returning to a team where cost control trumps all, a diminished outfit now parked outside the circle of contenders.
Nash cited a love of community and organization, and surely, many die-hards and blue-hairs want to give the point guard a big hug. But others questioned his compe ive zeal, as if this were proof of some flaw in his athletic genetic code.
Randy Johnson heard the same things when he signed with the Diamondbacks in 1999, and in 2001, he was holding up a championship trophy.
Granted, there will be no such ending for Nash. Unless he is traded, he will join the fraternity of impact players who never won a le, a list that includes Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, John Stockton and Patrick Ewing. That notoriety will follow him for the rest of his life, and on some level, it has to sting.
"You know what? I enjoy life too much to look back a lot," Nash said of the past five years. "I have too much to look forward to each day, too much left to accomplish and work for. Yeah, it's a shame and it hurts, if I take a minute to stop and think about it. But I don't really have any regrets, and I look forward to continuing to improve and being part of a great environment and a great team."
That isn't exactly true. Occasionally, Nash can get bitter, just like the rest of us: "No one gave us Pau Gasol for nothing," he said.
Nash isn't a charity worker, either, and maybe money has a lot to do with this. Maybe Nash wasn't going to command a $22 million extension anywhere else, and maybe his future options were limited. But in the end, he didn't have to commit to a rebuilding project in Phoenix. Same goes for Grant Hill, who brushed off an insulting initial offer from the team and signed on anyway.
For a franchise that already is on tenuous ground, the net effect is enormous.
Bash Nash, if you must. Like everyone else, he gets burned by the best point guards in the league. But he takes more charges than anyone in the building. His dedication to training and team-building are unquestioned, maybe unparalleled. Meanwhile, his performance clearly was hampered last season by the demands of Shaquille O'Neal, and the awkward attempts to implement a new system.
But just like Kurt Warner, Nash can work magic in the right system, with the right group of guys. And in one of their darker hours, the Suns now are in the hands of two great sportsmen, two men who sated their egos a long time ago.
With Nash and Hill, there could be no better duo to mentor and shape a new era of Suns basketball. For that, Valley fans should feel lucky. It could be a lot worse.
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