Western Conference Insider: Nash considers future in Phoenix
By Art Garcia, NBA.com
Posted Feb 4 2009 11:27AM
PHOENIX -- There's a lot going on under Steve Nash's stylish coiffure these days. Not only are the Suns wrestling with an identity crisis while dealing with past mistakes, their two-time MVP could be facing a decision on his future with the franchise.
Contract issues aren't exactly top-of-mind right this minute, but they are in there. Nash's attention is focused mainly on the issues that led to a series of soul-searching and clear-the-air meetings in recent days. Phoenix sits on the edge of the Western Conference playoff race.
"We're not a championship team right now," Nash said bluntly.
Whether the Suns can become one will impact the playing future of the globe-trotting Canadian. Phoenix holds Nash's contract option for 2009-10, and it'll be picked up to complete a six-year, $65 million deal. As for 2010 and beyond ...
"I would expect this summer we're going to approach him about an extension," Suns general manager Steve Kerr said. "That's the plan."
Nash knows the plan and Kerr believes that the NBA's best point guard of this decade is open to retiring in the desert. But Kerr is also smart enough not to assume that the analytical Nash is going to sign without measuring his options as precisely as he does his choices on a fast break.
"He may change his mind," Kerr acknowledged. "Maybe this season has worn on him a little bit. Maybe when he's only a year away from free agency, he may be really excited about the thought of being a free agent and what he might be able to get on the open market."
By not signing an extension, Nash would join the much-ballyhooed Class of 2010. And though he'll be 36 years old in the summer of '10, Nash won't be an afterthought in the free-agent feeding frenzy. It's easy to speculate about a reunion with Mike D'Antoni in New York, which doubles as Nash's offseason home. Nash quickly points out that much can change between now and then.
He isn't closing the door on Phoenix. Significant cap room could await the cash-strapped Suns in 2010. But Nash isn't so sure the funds will be there. Using the past few seasons as a guide, Nash said the team's competitiveness and financial standing will influence any decision he makes.
"Definitely," he said. "We're at the point where we've probably overreached by the franchise's philosophy, so I think going forward, especially with the credit crunch, it's not like we're going to go deeper into the cap."
Or perhaps in the playoffs. The Suns (26-20) began Wednesday only a half-game up on ninth-place Utah. Though a good chunk of the league would gladly trade places with Phoenix right now, Planet Orange is after a title.
With a roster featuring former MVPs in Nash and Shaquille O'Neal, plus Amar'e Stoudemire and Jason Richardson, the time in Phoenix is now. The Suns know it as well as anyone.
"We've made the effort to really make a run with this team and make a push," Kerr said. "We did mortgage our future a little bit to do it."
The Suns rolled the dice last season in trading for O'Neal, adding another year of mega-salary ($20 million) to their books. Adding such a burden was complicated for a front office trying to make up for several financial missteps, such as signing Marcus Banks and extending Boris Diaw too early.
In an effort to balance the bottom line, draft picks have been sold and useful players basically given away. Imagine where an aging team -- Nash, Shaq and Grant Hill are in their mid-30s -- would be with young studs Rajon Rondo and Rudy Fernandez, both Suns' picks dealt before ever playing a second for Phoenix. Kurt Thomas was donated to Seattle with two first-round choices.
Nash can understand basketball moves made because of money, but he said those choices need to be factored in when discussing a championship. The Suns simply aren't as talented as they could be because of the monetary constraints of Robert Sarver and his ownership group.
"It's their team and they can do whatever they want," Nash said matter-of-factly. "At the same time, when people are critical of us they should keep in mind we can very easily have a different roster. Go through and look at the players we've given up that were still cheap and very valuable.
"Sometimes you just can't have the same expectations you would in a different situation. You have to realize this organization is run with a business model not to make money or to not lose money -- fiscal responsibility. I respect that and at the same time you can't expect to compete with every team in the world when you have that concern."
Not that Nash is willing to throw in the towel on this team. After feeling underutilized earlier this season operating in new coach Terry Porter's system, the reins have been loosened. Nash led the league in assists in January and had more double-doubles that month than the first two months combined.
"It's getting there. I have good numbers," he said. "I don't shoot the ball as much, so I'm not going to have as many points, but if you look at our roster, someone has to sacrifice."
Sacrifice lies at the center of Nash's frustration. The gap between stars and role players hasn't been worked out yet, and Nash said it's why the Suns haven't reached their potential.
"The biggest thing we have to overcome is the majority of our players are scorers," Nash said. "For the majority of their careers, they were leaned on to score a lot. They weren't necessarily leaned on to do the little things."
That issue and more likely have been raised by management, coaches and players. The Suns may not have the familial feel of seasons past, but Nash hopes it's not too late to find some love.
"We have a lot of talent, so for us to give up on it would be premature and lack commitment and heart," he said. "There's a glimpse of hope with the guys we've got in the locker room. Let's keep working for it and see what happens. If you keep working, maybe you afford yourself a chance for things to fall into place and for good things to happen."
