Could Nash Be Next To Depart Suns?

[Windmill360]

Dec 14, 2008 11:38 AM EST

There is some speculation that Steve Nash could be the next member of the Suns to be sent packing.

Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, who were sent to the Bobcats this week, joined Shawn Marion and coach Mike D'Antoni as the most recent mainstays to leave.

"I was pretty flat emotionally," Nash said after the trade.

Bell and Nash, who are close friends, had been publicly petitioning coach Terry Porter to speed up his offense.

"I don't know," Nash, who will become a free agent in 2010, said of his future. Like I said before about the 2010 speculation, it's so far away."

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ar...o_depart_suns/

[Windmill360]

I heard about a rumor (probably fake and not reliable at all), even before this news , that he might be sent to Toronto in exchange for Calderon and Kapono.

[MaVs 41 BaLler]

nash's numbers have gone down like crazy since the last few years
his time is done

[LonghornDub]

I don't think he's gone this year, but I think they'll end up trading him next year before (*cough*) letting him walk for nothing.

[ty]

Originally Posted by Windmill360°

I heard about a rumor (probably fake and not reliable at all), even before this news , that he might be sent to Toronto in exchange for Calderon and Kapono.

Canada would go INSANE!

[RareMilk]

I don't think Canada would go insane. That little hispanic calderon is puttin it down for Toronto. You seen him play? He has a future for his career I doubt they would do it.

[ty]

Originally Posted by RareMilk

I don't think Canada would go insane. That little hispanic calderon is puttin it down for Toronto. You seen him play? He has a future for his career I doubt they would do it.

I'm pretty sure he is Spanish and not Hispanic.

Also, the term people down south prefer is "Mexican."

Canada wouldn't go insane if Mr. Nash himself came to Toronto??

He's basically the prime minister.

[Tokey41]

Calderon > Nash. He's the best PG in the east not named Devin Harris. You could make a case for Rose and Rondo too but i'll take a PG who handles the ball with care.

[Burn this City]

Originally Posted by Tokey41

Calderon > Nash. He's the best PG in the east not named Devin Harris.

Calderon is better than Harris...at least in terms of pure PG ability.

[Tokey41]

He's not that great on defense.

[chumdawg]

If the Suns are smart, they will follow the Dallas model and not lose Nash for nothing.

[dude1394]

I don't know...this contingent might go crazy.
http://whitebasketball.blogspot.com/...teve-nash.html

White of the Night: Steve Nash
None of our guys stood out head and shoulders tonight, so Steve Nash gets the White of the Night award for the highest P-R-A total, leading the Suns to a 1 point victory over the Magic.

[Burn this City]

Originally Posted by Tokey41

He's not that great on defense.

Neither is Nash...what's your point?

[Tokey41]

We were talking about the best PG in the east (Harris vs Calderon). Even the most bitter fan realizes Devin is adequate on defense and overall a more well-rounded player. I'd take him over Calderon, but it really depends on the type of team you have... and if your factoring in potential then Rose has to be mentioned in the discussion.

Forget about Nash being dealt for Calderon. Toronto isn't trading a young talented PG for one that's past his prime. Just because we would do something like that doesn't mean other teams would.

[ty]

Originally Posted by Tokey41

We were talking about the best PG in the east (Harris vs Calderon). Even the most bitter fan realizes Devin is adequate on defense and overall a more well-rounded player. I'd take him over Calderon, but it really depends on the type of team you have... and if your factoring in potential then Rose has to be mentioned in the discussion.

Forget about Nash being dealt for Calderon. Toronto isn't trading a young talented PG for one that's past his prime. Just because we would do something like that doesn't mean other teams would.

Well...they are Canadians...

[alby]

Are you kidding? Calderon >>> Harris.

But, Nash going back to Canada? He'll be elected prime minister the day he retires from the NBA.

[mqywaaah]

Originally Posted by Tokey41

Forget about Nash being dealt for Calderon. Toronto isn't trading a young talented PG for one that's past his prime. Just because we would do something like that doesn't mean other teams would.

This sounds so familiar. It's like I've seen this before, not too long ago. I just can't seem to put my finger on it. Wait... argh dammit! It's on the tip of my tongue. Oh well.

[Burn this City]

Originally Posted by Tokey41

We were talking about the best PG in the east (Harris vs Calderon). Even the most bitter fan realizes Devin is adequate on defense and overall a more well-rounded player. I'd take him over Calderon, but it really depends on the type of team you have... and if your factoring in potential then Rose has to be mentioned in the discussion.

Ok, you can argue he's a more well-rounded player, but I'm not sure that translates into being the best PG in the East. My point was Steve Nash has never been considered a good defender and by your definition, a fairly one-sided player. But there's no doubt that he had a solid 2-3 year stretch as being labeled the best PG in the league.

Harris is a better scorer than Calderon, but Calderon is more of a conventional PG - seems to be better at setting up the offense, creating open shots for teammates, and limiting turnovers. Like you said, a few seasons from now this won't really be much of an argument since Derrick Rose is on track to be better than both.

[DevinHarriswillstart]

Originally Posted by alby

Are you kidding? Calderon >>> Harris.

But, Nash going back to Canada? He'll be elected prime minister the day he retires from the NBA.

Haha Denial alert.

No way Calderon is better than Harris. Not even really close either.

[Windmill360]

Dec 15, 2008 2:36 AM EST

Steve Nash never got over that the Dallas Mavericks immediately broke up his 2003 Western Conference finals team by trading Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel, two of that team's top five scorers.

Nash practiced Sunday with a Suns team that has two other carryovers from two years ago. It was a day after many Suns attended the opening of Raja Bell's Scottsdale Moody Blues store as Bell played in Charlotte. It was the day Mike D'Antoni was in town coaching a New York Knicks team in preparation for his return to US Airways Center Monday night.

"I feel like I've been traded," Nash said, chuckling. "I feel like I'm on a different team because everything's changed so much around here. We have a lot of differences now after quite a bit of stability but change can really be positive. Amidst that recent chaos could come strong order. We're all optimistic but it's a strange point with Mike coming and all the changes."

The Suns worked on reintegrating offense of the four years with D'Antoni. Uptown at Phoenix Brophy Prep, the improving Knicks were learning his ways.

"I knew they were going to do great just because they'd be happy playing for him, enjoy going to work every day," Nash said. "Just his attitude was worth a bunch of wins."

The debate over D'Antoni's departure wafts. He spoke out last week about how he felt undermined by Suns executives and defended his decisions.

Asked when the hard feelings would go away, D'Antoni said, "When you die," with a laugh Sunday.

"Nah, you go on with life," he said. "In sports, it's just played out on the sports page. People go through this every day with their jobs and different things. I'm going forward and I'm happy."

In regard to his recent criticism, D'Antoni said he should have stayed quiet.

"I didn't say I lied," he added. "I just messed up."

Each side bites a tongue on the split, stewing about more than what is said. Coaches and general managers entering under different regimes seldom last. D'Antoni can be admittedly stubborn and sensitive. Suns GM Steve Kerr was admittedly green in leadership and naive to how a young GM would fly with a coach who had been his own boss.

"As I conveyed during Mike's time here, I valued him as a coach and I thought he did a great job," Kerr said. "My sole intent coming in as GM was to take my experience as a player and, having been a part of championship teams, provide that insight to help the Suns get over the hump. We wish Mike well with the Knicks. Our focus is in our organization maintaining success and building a championship-caliber team."

D'Antoni said "everybody has to be on the same page all the time." He felt he did not have full support. He knew players would not all back him after a first-round exit.

He said, "The next day, if someone puts a question to you, (you say), 'Oh, yeah, we gotta defend better. We gotta do this. That guy shouldn't have been late.' After a month, you think, 'You know what? It was pretty good. We just needed to get better internally on what we do.' "

Half of the playoff rotation is gone. A new starting lineup with Jason Richardson is about to debut.

"There is tons of turnover on every team, every year," Nash said. "We are no different than that but our core was always together. Now that we've traded, in the last 10 months, three of our top seven players, it's a change."

Nash, Leandro Barbosa and Amaré Stoudemire are the only Suns who played more than one year for D'Antoni.

"I thought he was going to come back," Barbosa said. "For some reason, he was different (in the playoffs). The bad thing is we did a bad job in the playoffs and we lost."

As much as Suns coach Terry Porter has loosened reins, he faces the one team that wants to run more. Shaquille O'Neal may not last long Monday night.

"Mike, he'll let Shaq score," Porter said. "He won't foul him. He'll let him lay it in so he can get it out of the net and go the other way."