Unhappy Steve Nash could be on break to Knicks next year
Saturday, December 13th 2008, 2:29 PM
His all-time favorite coach, Mike D'Antoni, is in New York. His best friend, Raja Bell, was just banished to Charlotte.
These definitely aren't fun times for Steve Nash in Phoenix.
But who says they're going to continue next season?
Nash could be leaving the Suns after this season, if the team decides it wants to continue to move away from D'Antoni's style, and comes up with a sensible solution to replacing one of the greatest players in franchise history.
Nash, who faces the Knicks Monday when D'Antoni makes his return to Phoenix, has a final year remaining on his deal after this season. But according to the terms of his contract, if the Suns waive him by June 30, 2009, a little more than half of his $13.5 million for next season is guaranteed, and he would become unrestricted on July 1.
The possibility of Nash leaving Phoenix early resulted from a compromise during his signing with the Suns in 2004. Nash wanted a six-year deal when he left Dallas. But after Mavs owner Mark Cuban raised concerns about Nash's ability to stay healthy, the Suns took that as a red flag and decided they didn't want to go past five years. They settled on the team option, with just under $7 million guaranteed if Nash were to be waived.
So Nash, no longer an MVP-caliber player but certainly still among the league's top point guards as he approaches his 35th birthday in February, could be on the move in a matter of seven months.
In that scenario, New York looks like the logical destination because of his close relationship with D'Antoni. But the Knicks don't get their cap relief until the following summer, in 2010. But who's to say that Nash, who already has a Manhattan residence he uses in the offseason, wouldn't agree to take less at the outset, with the understanding he'd be taken care of later?
Nash was too upset to talk to Phoenix reporters about his future after Bell and Boris Diaw were sent to Charlotte on Wednesday for Jason Richardson. But clearly, he misses playing for D'Antoni.
Under Steve Kerr's direction and Terry Porter's coaching, the Suns are going with a more conventional halfcourt system that doesn't play to Nash's strengths. That, of course, doesn't mean they'll exercise the option at season's end and let him walk. Before doing that, they'd need to have a viable replacement.
"The way things are going in Phoenix now, it's unlikely that Steve would sign an extension," a person close to Nash said the other day. "They won't trade him because they would just get killed by their fans. But it will be interesting to see whether he'll be under contract for next season."
Nash made it no secret that he was devastated by the trade, which was nobody's idea of a blockbuster that will vault Phoenix to the top of the West. If anyone doubted its potential impact, he should have been around when someone asked Porter if he equated the deal to the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol last season.
Porter burst out laughing, then said, "You consider that like a trade? That was like a giveaway."
As athletic as Richardson is - he's a two-time slam-dunk champ - he's a volume shooter, meaning there are bound to be chemistry issues with Nash, Shaquille O'Neal and especially Amare Stoudemire, who complained at the start of the season that he wanted to be the Suns' featured player.
But with the Suns fighting Dallas for the final playoff berth - and only a couple of losses behind the fourth-place Rockets - Kerr said he made the trade "to break through and really make a push."
Nash has his doubts.
"I hope it's not a situation where they are just trying to blow it up," he said. "I think we still have got a chance to be a really good team. ... We're not only re-creating chemistry. We're changing our style a little bit. That's been difficult. There's been a few moving parts."
And Nash could very well be the next part to move.
On TNT's studio show, Charles Barkley specifically addressed the trade's impact on Nash, declaring, "This has to be a trade that helps Steve Nash win some more basketball games, or he's going to start looking upstairs or in the stands (at Suns management) as he's dribbling the ball up the court, asking, 'What are you doing with me and what are you doing to this team?' "
His answer could come on June 30.
Sputtering Pistons
The Pistons continue to fade with Allen Iverson, but Joe Dumars isn't expected to try to find a new home for his star guard.
Rasheed Wallace could be another story. According to one Eastern Conference executive, the Pistons will take calls on Wallace. One team mentioned as a potential destination is Dallas.
"That's a 'Mark Cuban move,' " said an Eastern Conference executive. "Cuban would take Rasheed, no question. It would be bold, but he knows he's got to do something to spark his team."
Cuban tried that last season when he acquired Jason Kidd, but ended up making a mistake by giving the Nets Devin Harris.
The Mavs don't appear to have enough to get Wallace. And the Pistons would like to use Wallace's money - along with Iverson's - to create enough cap space to make a run at LeBron James and/or Chris Bosh in two summers.
But it's hard to believe that Dumars will sit still as the losses mount and Detroit slides in the standings. Wallace and Iverson haven't been a good fit. In their recent eight-game stretch, the Pistons lost four times to teams with losing marks. Then again, no one has meshed with Iverson since the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to Denver last month.
"Guys have bad body language when a teammate gets beat; guys have body language if a guy takes a bad shot," rookie coach Michael Curry said.
Plus, there are the usual run-ins with refs, a Piston hallmark. Wallace had seven technicals in the first 20 games, picking up three in a recent four-game stretch.
"We can't get on the refs, we have to leave them alone," Curry said. "We can't get to where we're reacting to every situation on the court. During these next 20 games, we're looking to leave the refs alone more, not let good or bad runs affect us, and continue to improve and adapt to the changes."
Saturday, December 13th 2008, 2:29 PM
His all-time favorite coach, Mike D'Antoni, is in New York. His best friend, Raja Bell, was just banished to Charlotte.
These definitely aren't fun times for Steve Nash in Phoenix.
But who says they're going to continue next season?
Nash could be leaving the Suns after this season, if the team decides it wants to continue to move away from D'Antoni's style, and comes up with a sensible solution to replacing one of the greatest players in franchise history.
Nash, who faces the Knicks Monday when D'Antoni makes his return to Phoenix, has a final year remaining on his deal after this season. But according to the terms of his contract, if the Suns waive him by June 30, 2009, a little more than half of his $13.5 million for next season is guaranteed, and he would become unrestricted on July 1.
The possibility of Nash leaving Phoenix early resulted from a compromise during his signing with the Suns in 2004. Nash wanted a six-year deal when he left Dallas. But after Mavs owner Mark Cuban raised concerns about Nash's ability to stay healthy, the Suns took that as a red flag and decided they didn't want to go past five years. They settled on the team option, with just under $7 million guaranteed if Nash were to be waived.
So Nash, no longer an MVP-caliber player but certainly still among the league's top point guards as he approaches his 35th birthday in February, could be on the move in a matter of seven months.
In that scenario, New York looks like the logical destination because of his close relationship with D'Antoni. But the Knicks don't get their cap relief until the following summer, in 2010. But who's to say that Nash, who already has a Manhattan residence he uses in the offseason, wouldn't agree to take less at the outset, with the understanding he'd be taken care of later?
Nash was too upset to talk to Phoenix reporters about his future after Bell and Boris Diaw were sent to Charlotte on Wednesday for Jason Richardson. But clearly, he misses playing for D'Antoni.
Under Steve Kerr's direction and Terry Porter's coaching, the Suns are going with a more conventional halfcourt system that doesn't play to Nash's strengths. That, of course, doesn't mean they'll exercise the option at season's end and let him walk. Before doing that, they'd need to have a viable replacement.
"The way things are going in Phoenix now, it's unlikely that Steve would sign an extension," a person close to Nash said the other day. "They won't trade him because they would just get killed by their fans. But it will be interesting to see whether he'll be under contract for next season."
Nash made it no secret that he was devastated by the trade, which was nobody's idea of a blockbuster that will vault Phoenix to the top of the West. If anyone doubted its potential impact, he should have been around when someone asked Porter if he equated the deal to the Lakers' acquisition of Pau Gasol last season.
Porter burst out laughing, then said, "You consider that like a trade? That was like a giveaway."
As athletic as Richardson is - he's a two-time slam-dunk champ - he's a volume shooter, meaning there are bound to be chemistry issues with Nash, Shaquille O'Neal and especially Amare Stoudemire, who complained at the start of the season that he wanted to be the Suns' featured player.
But with the Suns fighting Dallas for the final playoff berth - and only a couple of losses behind the fourth-place Rockets - Kerr said he made the trade "to break through and really make a push."
Nash has his doubts.
"I hope it's not a situation where they are just trying to blow it up," he said. "I think we still have got a chance to be a really good team. ... We're not only re-creating chemistry. We're changing our style a little bit. That's been difficult. There's been a few moving parts."
And Nash could very well be the next part to move.
On TNT's studio show, Charles Barkley specifically addressed the trade's impact on Nash, declaring, "This has to be a trade that helps Steve Nash win some more basketball games, or he's going to start looking upstairs or in the stands (at Suns management) as he's dribbling the ball up the court, asking, 'What are you doing with me and what are you doing to this team?' "
His answer could come on June 30.
Sputtering Pistons
The Pistons continue to fade with Allen Iverson, but Joe Dumars isn't expected to try to find a new home for his star guard.
Rasheed Wallace could be another story. According to one Eastern Conference executive, the Pistons will take calls on Wallace. One team mentioned as a potential destination is Dallas.
"That's a 'Mark Cuban move,' " said an Eastern Conference executive. "Cuban would take Rasheed, no question. It would be bold, but he knows he's got to do something to spark his team."
Cuban tried that last season when he acquired Jason Kidd, but ended up making a mistake by giving the Nets Devin Harris.
The Mavs don't appear to have enough to get Wallace. And the Pistons would like to use Wallace's money - along with Iverson's - to create enough cap space to make a run at LeBron James and/or Chris Bosh in two summers.
But it's hard to believe that Dumars will sit still as the losses mount and Detroit slides in the standings. Wallace and Iverson haven't been a good fit. In their recent eight-game stretch, the Pistons lost four times to teams with losing marks. Then again, no one has meshed with Iverson since the Pistons traded Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess to Denver last month.
"Guys have bad body language when a teammate gets beat; guys have body language if a guy takes a bad shot," rookie coach Michael Curry said.
Plus, there are the usual run-ins with refs, a Piston hallmark. Wallace had seven technicals in the first 20 games, picking up three in a recent four-game stretch.
"We can't get on the refs, we have to leave them alone," Curry said. "We can't get to where we're reacting to every situation on the court. During these next 20 games, we're looking to leave the refs alone more, not let good or bad runs affect us, and continue to improve and adapt to the changes."
