According to Paul Calvisi of KTAR Radio in Phoenix (via Pro Basketball Talk), the Suns have offered free agent Steve Nash a paltry 2 year, $12 million contract, which pales in comparison to the reported, 3 years, $36 million offer from the Toronto Raptors. The New York Knicks are also still in play for Nash, hoping to pull off a sign-and-trade which would more than likely require Landry Fields in the deal. And don’t expect Dallas to remain quiet – they’ll make a run at Nash if Deron Williams decides to stay in Brooklyn. What’s abundantly clear, however, is that the Suns are all but bowing out of the Nash sweepstakes.
Phoenix already drafted UNC point guard Kendall Marshall with the 13th pick in last Thursday’s draft, and more reports indicate that the Suns are meeting today with free agent point guard Goran Dragic, formerly of the Houston Rockets, which is further evidence pointing towards Nash’s exit.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports makes a particularly astute observation about the Suns, however: Phoenix traded Goran Dragic and a 1st round pick for Aaron Brooks in 2011, only to come back and offer Dragic around $8-9 million to rejoin the team. Just a waste of a 1st round pick, if you ask us.
Chad Ford of ESPN notes that Kendall Marshall is not quite ready to shoulder the entire load of running the Suns office, saying this:
“”I think Marshall will be a solid NBA player. He might be the best passer in the draft, but his lack of lateral quickness may limit him to role player duty in the pros. If Steve Nash stays, he’ll be a nice backup. If he leaves, the Suns will still need to find a starting point guard on the free agent market.”
You’d think that Steve Nash would be the perfect mentor for Marshall, but the Suns historically refrain from shelling out real money for anyone – they already let Amar’e Stoudemire and Joe Johnson walk for big money elsewhere. But considering Nash’s supreme loyalty to the franchise, despite its consistent attempts to shed salary and disrupt a once serious championship contender, you’d think they’d make an exception with this one. You can’t blame Nash for looking elsewhere, especially when he’s not only looking at more money, but serious playoff contention if he ends up a Raptor, Knick or Maverick.
Should the Suns offer Steve Nash more years and money?
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