NBA analyst knows Suns are in tough spot with Nash

Nash, at 38, is averaging 15.1 points and 10 assists per game on .559 shooting. He hit the game-winning shot Tuesday in Milwaukee, and is playing about as well as he ever has.

However, the Suns are still on the outside of the playoff race looking in, and while the current three-game winning streak is nice, it's worth noting that just three of the team's 11 wins this season have come against teams with a winning record.

That's what happens with a team full of role players and just one star.

"You can win, but you can't win a championship," ESPN NBA analyst Jon Barry told Arizona Sports 620's Burns and Gambo Wednesday. "You can maybe sneak into the playoffs; you can be a decent team but you're not going to be one of the upper-echelon teams."

That's why many think the Suns should be looking to trade Nash, because at his age with his impending free agency, it's assumed this season will be the veteran's last in Phoenix. After all, why would the only player in NBA history to win a league MVP award and never play in the NBA Finals want to stick around for a squad that is rebuilding?

That question may be asked again after Nash signs his next contract, as Barry said the guard has no desire to leave the organization - now and in the future.

"He said he wants to play for two more years," Barry said, noting he spoke with Nash a couple weeks ago. "He said he wants to play two more and he wants to be a Sun; he doesn't want to leave."

And since the Suns don't seem inclined to part with the face of their franchise - especially without getting something significant in return - chances are Nash will get his wish.

Unfortunately, though, as great as Nash still is, the Suns are not good enough to compete for a championship. But, as great as Nash is, they'll likely never be bad enough to get a great draft pick as long as No. 13 is around.

"They're right in that in between zone, they're just kind of right in the mediocrity," Barry said. "They're not one of the worst teams, by any means, and they're not a real good team.

"It's not a playoff team to me."

So, as Barry opined, the question then becomes whether it's better to blow it up and try to get that draft pick or to push ahead and aim for a low playoff seed and likely lose in the first round.

"Franchises have to deal with that year in and year out, and they're certainly right in the middle of that," he said.

Barry said he would try to rebuild by adding veterans and proven commodities rather than take his chances in the draft, but knows the Suns contract situation will make that difficult to accomplish.

Still, he knows there is an inherent danger in getting rid of Nash and being bad for a few seasons.

"If you do get rid of Steve Nash you're talking about…who comes to the games, how long does that last," he said. "I don't know if [Suns owner Robert Sarver] is in for that; he's a guy that wants to make some money, he's made no bones about that."

So the Phoenix Suns are stuck between a rock and a hard place, involved in a catch-22 and every other similar cliché you can think of. The only question left is how they plan to handle it.