Is it Time to Trade Steve Nash?
There are whispers of heresy creeping into Planet Orange. Slowly you can hear the murmur of the mumbling class of peanut gallery people calling for the trade of Steve Nash. That's not because they hate Steve or because of any weaknesses he has, it's because he's getting old and the team is going nowhere right now. So the thought is to trade Steve now while you can get something good in return and the Lakers are unbeatable anyways and then retool to be competitive again in a year or two.
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Now historically I've been a big advocate of trading Nash. I think Nash is one of the top 10 offensive players the game has ever seen. He's a sure fire Hall of Fame player who is a great teammate, community leaders and he's a winner. What he's not, is a defensive player. One of the key reasons the Suns could never get over the hump of the Western Conference finals with Nash is because against elite point guards Nash gets blown by, which forces a help defender to come over and inevitably leads to what essentially is 5 on 4 basketball and thus a myriad of open shots. Add to that a historical lack of shot blockers and you have a team that can never win it all. As such I have often thought the Suns should dump Nash as his value is so high that they could get a killing in return and recover quickly with a more well-rounded team that could compete for a championship.
That said, I don't think trading Nash this year makes sense anymore. I say that because:
1. Almost any deal would need to include Grant Hill.
2. Amare Stoudemire isn't here to save the day anymore.
3. Dragic isn't ready to lead.
4. The old Gray Mare just ain't what she used to be.
So, let's go into some detail here:
1. Grant Hill: Hill is a freak of nature and an amazing player. He and Nash share many of the same positive attributes. Grant resigned with Phoenix at a discounted rate because of Nash. If you trade Nash, you pretty much have to trade Grant. Not only because you don't need a disgruntled player who no longer wants to be here, but also because the Suns have about 45 wing players and they need to she'd a few. Add into that the fact that if you trade Nash you're committing to a rebuilding phase that can't include the third oldest player in the NBA.
2. If the Suns had traded Nash years ago, STAT could have held the fort down while the Suns developed a new point guard. While STAT was also a defensive liability, he is an undeniable offensive force. Any point guard who plays with Amare is going to see their assist numbers spike and the team will be able to score because they have that elite post presence. Without Amare there anymore if you take away Nash how do they Suns score? Who becomes the go to player? The closest thing they have at that point is Hedo.
3. Dragic is an amazing talent who might one day be a fantastic point guard, but today he looks like a fantastic back up shooting guard. His +/- rate tends to be in the minus category more often then not. He has all the skills, but he's just not ready yet. He's more Manu, less Tony Parker.
4. The last problem with trading Nash is that the market for Steve has gone south. He's now 36 years old and few competitive teams are willing to sell the farm on a point guard who can't play defense and the non-competitive teams aren't going to sell the future for a year or two of increased ticket revenue. What teams would even want Nash:
Orlando
Oklahoma City
New York
Miami
Atlanta
Those are the only teams I can possibly think of who would want to take on Steve Nash. So, what maybe Grant Hill and Nash for Gortat, Pietrus and a number 1. If I'm Orlando I do it, but if you're Phoenix is it really worth it?
OKC may give you Jeff Greenmaybe. Is that worth it?
After NYK trades for Melo they won't have much left. Felton and a bag of chipsI'd pass.
Miami can give you Chalmers and any other player not in the big 3which are the only guys you would want anyways.
Atlanta has some interesting options, but why would they want Nash?
In the end, I think it's better to just ride it out and let's see if Nash doesn't have a little magic mojo left in those old legs and see if he can't will the team to win much like they did last year. I'd rather see that than to watch the Suns suffer as they have Hedo run PG for the next 2-3 years.
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Posted in Sports Post Date 05/08/2017