Phoenix. Toronto. Dallas. Brooklyn. New York. Where would you want to live? Where would you want to play? For Steve Nash, those could be his options, his best options. At 38 years old, he’s played 16 NBA seasons, made eight All-Star Games, three All-NBA First Teams, won two NBA MVPs, and has zero NBA Finals appearances. Dallas won a championship last year. The rest? They’re used to planning their vacations in early June.
Nash officially becomes a free agent this Sunday, and according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, those five potential suitors stand out above the rest:
Nash is expected to be courted by the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks, league sources said. Nash does have New York connections: He lives here during the offseason and hosted his annual charity soccer game here Wednesday.
“You can go down the line of teams and possibilities and you can list a bunch of pros,” Nash said. “But it will be interesting to see what actually transpires on [Sunday] and see how they rank in my mind.”
Brooklyn needs a backup plan in case Deron Williams bolts, and who better to bring in then the international star who loves New York City, and is an expert at helping to turn around struggling franchises (in his first year with Phoenix, the Suns won an extra 33 games)? Yet many in the organization say Nash isn’t really a backup plan. Avery Johnson wants to play Williams and Nash together, and thinks a new arena, a home in Brooklyn, and his longstanding ties with Nash can make it happen.
The Knicks have long coveted Nash (and he considers them a better option than the Nets at the moment), and still do despite the presence of Jeremy Lin – who’s almost certainly going to be brought back – and Mike Woodson, who’s style isn’t exactly Mike D’Antoni. But they’ll probably have to execute a sign-and-trade to get him.
Dirk is recruiting Deron Williams. So is Delonte West, even though… West’s a free agent (only Delonte would do this). But plan B isn’t too bad either: bringing Nash back to reunite with his boy Dirk. If you’re into happy endings, it doesn’t get much better than hoping for Jason Kidd to remain in Dallas so he can back up Nash. Remember, once upon a time, Nash was bussing tables for Kidd with the Phoenix Suns.
Toronto, meanwhile, can’t offer an NBA Finals trip, but they believe they have a shot at the Canadian, so much so they’re refusing Houston’s offer of Kyle Lowry. They don’t want to bring in two starting point guards.
Then there’s Phoenix, who have only helped save Nash’s career, prolong his prime by about three years, and sport what everyone considers the best training staff in the game. While spending a day in Phoenix with him earlier this year, Nash told me it’s not even about the comforts of home. He’s moved enough in his life that doing it again on the tail end of his career won’t be a negative. It’s about loyalty.
But with a team in disarray, and a future looking more cloudy than ever in the desert, Nash deserves a chance to consider his options.
Where should he play next year?
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