azdad1978
Championship!!!!
Early bond helped Nash leave Dallas
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 20, 2005 12:00 AM
When Steve Nash and Rex Chapman were paired as Suns teammates in 1996, their initial years together often were a combination of hoops and hijinks.
Last July 1 found them in awkward positions, sitting across each other at a negotiating table.
On one side sat Nash, a coveted free agent who had made his mark in Dallas. On the other was his first NBA friend, now a member of the Phoenix front-office contingent that was intent on bringing him back to where his pro career began.
Still, they had to look away every time they made eye contact to avoid laughing.
When Suns Chairman Jerry Colangelo pressed Nash on what it would take for him to leave Dallas, Nash looked between Jerry and Bryan Colangelo at the man sitting between and behind them. It was serious now. Chapman nodded.
There might not have been another person who could have prompted Nash to do what he did in the ensuing minutes. Nash laid out his desires and set the wheels in motion to leave Dallas and his two best friends, Mavericks teammates Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley.
All it took was $65.6 million and his comfort with Chapman.
Otherwise, Nash said the notion of leaving unfinished business in Dallas would have seemed as unthinkable as winning the league's Most Valuable Player award.
"Rex played a huge part of it," Nash said. "Him being a part of this whole thing made me comfortable enough to entertain (the idea), because it was real difficult for me. I thought it would just happen with Dallas. Because of Rex, Phoenix was an exciting and viable option."
Kentucky meets Canada
Before there was the Big Three of Nash, Nowitzki and Finley in Dallas, there was an odd couple in Phoenix. Chapman and Nash arrived in the Valley simultaneously. When Kentucky met British Columbia, Chapman was a 29-year-old married father of two on his fourth NBA stop in nine seasons. Nash was a party-hearty 22-year-old rookie out of Santa Clara.
"He taught me a lot," Nash said. "He helped me a lot, mostly off the court about not taking it too seriously, how to be a competitor and a winner. He had a better handle than most people about what it takes down the stretch to win games.
"At the time, he felt more like a big brother. He seemed like an old man. When I came back to Phoenix last summer, it made me realize how old these guys thought I was."
They shared two seasons of "being idiots" and becoming close through their conversations on team flights, when Chapman often counseled Nash about his sparse playing time behind Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson.
"A lot of times, you don't have anything besides basketball in common with your teammates," Chapman said. "Some of them you wouldn't go to dinner with if your life depended on it. Very early, I realized he was special."
But shared time in the NBA can be fleeting. When Chapman was on the cusp of a new six-year deal, Nash was traded to Dallas. The move limited their bond to infrequent calls and visits, until last summer.
Chapman flew to Dallas on June 30, the night before teams were allowed to meet with free agents. Nash had spent the previous six weeks on a European vacation and was out of touch after losing his cellphone in the first week.
He called Nash to tell him he was in Dallas, and Nash invited him over at 1 a.m., after the negotiation gates opened. Mavericks President Donnie Nelson already had been to Nash's house but made no offer.
Chapman, who has since been bumped up from scout to Phoenix's director of basketball operations, caught up with Nash for an hour before turning to the day's business.
"Do you want to leave Dallas?" Chapman asked Nash.
He didn't.
"Are you saying you're not going to leave?" he followed.
He said no.
"There was already some resentment and animosity built up at that time, because they hadn't given him an extension and allowed him to become a free agent," Chapman said.
Chapman had one more question: "Would you consider going any other place besides Phoenix?"
Nash again said no, swinging the door open.
Chapman had mixed emotions, knowing how Nash wished he could stay in Dallas. "That talk gave it an opportunity to happen," Nash said.
Making their pitch
They met again the next day at the lush Dallas home of new Suns investor John Landon. The meeting included Nash, Chapman, the Colangelos, new Suns managing owner Robert Sarver, Amaré Stoudemire, investor/consultant Steve Kerr, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, Suns director of player personnel David Griffin and Nash's agent, Bill Duffy.
"Rex facilitated a lot," Nash said. "He had both parties' best interest in sight. He was able to really be on both sides. He understood my side and the team's and bridged the gap."
He also provided comic relief, breaking up a tense moment of silence by chirping, "Has everybody seen the (butt) on Steve's girlfriend?"
After each visitor made his sales pitch, Nash, Duffy, the Colangelos and Chapman went into an office, where Nash asked for a deal covering five years at $12 million annually, based on Mike Bibby's seven-year, $80.5 million deal in 2002. "They should put Jerry in those 'never let them see you sweat' commercials," Chapman said. "He didn't even blink."
The contract ultimately became a $65.6 million deal, with a partially guaranteed sixth year. But first, Nash felt obliged to give the Mavericks another run.
Dallas owner Mark Cuban had hoped Nash would take a four-year, $36 million deal at that point. When told of a large Suns offer and their desire for an immediate answer, Cuban asked for 20 minutes and called back to ask the Suns to consider a sign-and-trade deal. Nash's head dropped.
"It was like someone just put a bullet in his chest," Chapman said.
Coming home
When the call ended, Nash proclaimed he was a Sun. He and Chapman again became constant companions.
"Emotionally, it was a tough decision because of Steve's long-term relationships," Sarver said. "Rex was reassuring to Steve that the organization was in good hands."
They hang out in town, with Nash becoming an "uncle" to Chapman's kids, Zeke and Caley. During separate travels, they talk by phone daily.
The shenanigans are flowing like 1996 all over again. Chapman cuts up Nash during press gatherings with calls of "Nerb" or "Strudel" - inside jokes - from the back of the pack.
"He made it feel like coming home instead of a new situation," Nash said.
Always linked
Steve Nash and Rex Chapman shared a more unexpected tie recently when claims of racism in the MVP voting emerged earlier this month.
Chapman emphatically believes Nash deserved the MVP, but said the notion that some voters picked Nash because he is White could not be dismissed. It brought out regretful memories of Chapman's playing days at Kentucky, where he said athletic officials, boosters and others discouraged him from dating Black women.
The Kentucky native even had an epithet keyed into his car door. He said he did not want to leave school after two years, but did so because he resented the racism around him.
"I'm getting cheered on the court as much as any 'Great White Hope' could be and despised off of it," he said.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0520nashchapman0520.html
Paul Coro
The Arizona Republic
May. 20, 2005 12:00 AM
When Steve Nash and Rex Chapman were paired as Suns teammates in 1996, their initial years together often were a combination of hoops and hijinks.
Last July 1 found them in awkward positions, sitting across each other at a negotiating table.
On one side sat Nash, a coveted free agent who had made his mark in Dallas. On the other was his first NBA friend, now a member of the Phoenix front-office contingent that was intent on bringing him back to where his pro career began.
Still, they had to look away every time they made eye contact to avoid laughing.
When Suns Chairman Jerry Colangelo pressed Nash on what it would take for him to leave Dallas, Nash looked between Jerry and Bryan Colangelo at the man sitting between and behind them. It was serious now. Chapman nodded.
There might not have been another person who could have prompted Nash to do what he did in the ensuing minutes. Nash laid out his desires and set the wheels in motion to leave Dallas and his two best friends, Mavericks teammates Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley.
All it took was $65.6 million and his comfort with Chapman.
Otherwise, Nash said the notion of leaving unfinished business in Dallas would have seemed as unthinkable as winning the league's Most Valuable Player award.
"Rex played a huge part of it," Nash said. "Him being a part of this whole thing made me comfortable enough to entertain (the idea), because it was real difficult for me. I thought it would just happen with Dallas. Because of Rex, Phoenix was an exciting and viable option."
Kentucky meets Canada
Before there was the Big Three of Nash, Nowitzki and Finley in Dallas, there was an odd couple in Phoenix. Chapman and Nash arrived in the Valley simultaneously. When Kentucky met British Columbia, Chapman was a 29-year-old married father of two on his fourth NBA stop in nine seasons. Nash was a party-hearty 22-year-old rookie out of Santa Clara.
"He taught me a lot," Nash said. "He helped me a lot, mostly off the court about not taking it too seriously, how to be a competitor and a winner. He had a better handle than most people about what it takes down the stretch to win games.
"At the time, he felt more like a big brother. He seemed like an old man. When I came back to Phoenix last summer, it made me realize how old these guys thought I was."
They shared two seasons of "being idiots" and becoming close through their conversations on team flights, when Chapman often counseled Nash about his sparse playing time behind Jason Kidd and Kevin Johnson.
"A lot of times, you don't have anything besides basketball in common with your teammates," Chapman said. "Some of them you wouldn't go to dinner with if your life depended on it. Very early, I realized he was special."
But shared time in the NBA can be fleeting. When Chapman was on the cusp of a new six-year deal, Nash was traded to Dallas. The move limited their bond to infrequent calls and visits, until last summer.
Chapman flew to Dallas on June 30, the night before teams were allowed to meet with free agents. Nash had spent the previous six weeks on a European vacation and was out of touch after losing his cellphone in the first week.
He called Nash to tell him he was in Dallas, and Nash invited him over at 1 a.m., after the negotiation gates opened. Mavericks President Donnie Nelson already had been to Nash's house but made no offer.
Chapman, who has since been bumped up from scout to Phoenix's director of basketball operations, caught up with Nash for an hour before turning to the day's business.
"Do you want to leave Dallas?" Chapman asked Nash.
He didn't.
"Are you saying you're not going to leave?" he followed.
He said no.
"There was already some resentment and animosity built up at that time, because they hadn't given him an extension and allowed him to become a free agent," Chapman said.
Chapman had one more question: "Would you consider going any other place besides Phoenix?"
Nash again said no, swinging the door open.
Chapman had mixed emotions, knowing how Nash wished he could stay in Dallas. "That talk gave it an opportunity to happen," Nash said.
Making their pitch
They met again the next day at the lush Dallas home of new Suns investor John Landon. The meeting included Nash, Chapman, the Colangelos, new Suns managing owner Robert Sarver, Amaré Stoudemire, investor/consultant Steve Kerr, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, Suns director of player personnel David Griffin and Nash's agent, Bill Duffy.
"Rex facilitated a lot," Nash said. "He had both parties' best interest in sight. He was able to really be on both sides. He understood my side and the team's and bridged the gap."
He also provided comic relief, breaking up a tense moment of silence by chirping, "Has everybody seen the (butt) on Steve's girlfriend?"
After each visitor made his sales pitch, Nash, Duffy, the Colangelos and Chapman went into an office, where Nash asked for a deal covering five years at $12 million annually, based on Mike Bibby's seven-year, $80.5 million deal in 2002. "They should put Jerry in those 'never let them see you sweat' commercials," Chapman said. "He didn't even blink."
The contract ultimately became a $65.6 million deal, with a partially guaranteed sixth year. But first, Nash felt obliged to give the Mavericks another run.
Dallas owner Mark Cuban had hoped Nash would take a four-year, $36 million deal at that point. When told of a large Suns offer and their desire for an immediate answer, Cuban asked for 20 minutes and called back to ask the Suns to consider a sign-and-trade deal. Nash's head dropped.
"It was like someone just put a bullet in his chest," Chapman said.
Coming home
When the call ended, Nash proclaimed he was a Sun. He and Chapman again became constant companions.
"Emotionally, it was a tough decision because of Steve's long-term relationships," Sarver said. "Rex was reassuring to Steve that the organization was in good hands."
They hang out in town, with Nash becoming an "uncle" to Chapman's kids, Zeke and Caley. During separate travels, they talk by phone daily.
The shenanigans are flowing like 1996 all over again. Chapman cuts up Nash during press gatherings with calls of "Nerb" or "Strudel" - inside jokes - from the back of the pack.
"He made it feel like coming home instead of a new situation," Nash said.
Always linked
Steve Nash and Rex Chapman shared a more unexpected tie recently when claims of racism in the MVP voting emerged earlier this month.
Chapman emphatically believes Nash deserved the MVP, but said the notion that some voters picked Nash because he is White could not be dismissed. It brought out regretful memories of Chapman's playing days at Kentucky, where he said athletic officials, boosters and others discouraged him from dating Black women.
The Kentucky native even had an epithet keyed into his car door. He said he did not want to leave school after two years, but did so because he resented the racism around him.
"I'm getting cheered on the court as much as any 'Great White Hope' could be and despised off of it," he said.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/0520nashchapman0520.html
