This Sun is Setting

Why Phoenix should do the right thing and trade Steve Nash.

Steve Nash won’t demand or hold the team hostage in demanding a trade. You will not hear of any behind the scenes gripping or machinations from the former two-time MVP to get out of Phoenix. You certainly won’t see him mope or mail a game in before it starts.  Steve Nash will go out there day in and day out and play hard for the Phoenix Sun’s, committed to winning, even though the franchise is not.  All of which is why the Sun’s should trade Steve Nash.

Though his numbers are down across the board (minutes are down by nearly 5 minutes from the season before; assists down to 9.8 from 11.4; ppg down to 12 from 14.7 a year ago) Steve Nash still has something left in his 37 year old body as evidence from his 17 assist night against the Milwaukee Bucks.  His low early season statistics are more indicative of the shortened season and a coaching staff not wanting to put a lot of wear and tear on Nash’s are already ailing body. But a trade to a team that has a legitimate chance to win a title would breathe new life into Nash and give him that final opportunity to win a championship; a feat that will not happen with the current cast that comprise the Sun’s roster.

Nash came so close to title appearances only to be body checked by Robert Horry in 2007 or to run out of gas and be dumped by good pal Dirk Nowitzki in 2006. Those Sun’s teams that went far in the playoffs had talent around Nash in the form of Amare Stoudemire, an in shape Boris Diaw, Joe Johnson, and Shawn Marion.  Now Nash is surrounded by Martin Gortat, Channing Frye, and the ageless Grant Hill; not exactly a murderer’s row to strike fear or even a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Yet, as the years go by and Sun’s owner Robert Sarver’s pockets become tighter and tighter so do Nash’s opportunity for a ring. But Nash, the good soldier that he is just goes out there and plays basketball without a peep of how ownership wasted money on the likes of Hakim Warrick and Josh Childress, all while his talented former teammates went elsewhere. Like John Stockton at the end of his career, Nash will just continue to rack up assists, be a good teammate, and become just another guy you mention, much like Barkley, Malone, and Stockton, as great players who did not win a championship.  After seeing his best friend Dirk stand tall upon the NBA world last June, Nash must be seething inside for his one shot to win that elusive championship.

Which is why the Sun’s owe it to their two-time MVP to give him one final shot elsewhere to capture glory on the biggest stage. Like I mentioned before, Nash would breath a new life not only into himself, but also into the franchise he is traded to.  Teams like the Knicks, the Hawks, San Antonio, and Portland would all be great destination spots for Nash to end up because those teams have point guard issues that Nash could settle for the next couple of years. The Suns should not be contemplating a trade, but actively looking to make a trade in their effort to begin rebuilding. The Suns, not heading into any real direction, unless mediocrity and cheapness is called a direction, should look to obtain expiring contracts and draft picks to begin the post-Nash era. If not then you are stuck with a mediocre team without even one selling or appealing piece once Nash is no longer there.  The Sun’s best bet is to trade Nash as debt to his valuable time in the desert and, in the meantime, begin to find a new cornerstone(s) to rebuild this franchise around.

Nash deserves that one last attempt to go out a winner before its too late. He will never, admirably, ask out, so it is on the front office of the Suns to know what is best, not only for a great employee, but for their own franchise. They need to do this before the sun sets on all of them.