Nash is proving his worth now

[mavs1980]

Nash is proving his worth now

Former Mavs guard is disappointed, but won't look back


11:35 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 19, 2004


By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News



SAN ANTONIO – The point guard the Mavericks let walk ran the court Tuesday with his usual frenetic flair.

He was everything Phoenix expected.

For the first time in six years, Steve Nash didn't work to get the ball into the hands of Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley. His job these days is to make a connection with Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion. On this night, he even made Jake Voskuhl look good.

Nash finished with 11 assists in three quarters in his first game for the Suns. That's more than his replacement, Jason Terry, had in his first two games with the Mavericks.

Is there any way to quantify how much Nash means to the development of a young, athletic Suns team that pushed its preseason record to 3-0 with a 104-96 win over San Antonio?

"At least $64 million worth," said Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni, referring to Nash's contract. "But, no, you can't measure it.

"I don't care how much you pay Steve Nash. He's probably underpaid."

Nash talked about how tough it was to leave behind his friends and teammates in Dallas. He conceded he's disappointed by some of the comments made upon his departure and said he hasn't spoken to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in months. But he doesn't want to drag up "all that old stuff."

"I don't have a lot of time to cry over what happened," Nash said, "because things are so good in Phoenix."