For years Steve Nash was pushed by reporters to admit that he was going to leave the Valley of the Sun, and for years he refused to acknowledge any such thing would ever happen.

According to ESPN.com, the free agent point guard wouldn't list a favorite destination but pointed out that he now knows Phoenix may not be that place.

"But I do know that for the first time I realize that it might not be Phoenix. I would have said even in the middle of (last) season or last year that I would have thought I probably would have stayed in Phoenix forever. But it's come to a point now where I'm facing the reality that's not (the case)."

Nash went on to say that he senses team officials are ready to move in a different direction, and he doesn't feel staying in Phoenix is a sure bet anymore.

"I don't necessarily feel like it's a home run anymore," Nash said of re-signing with the Suns. "I don't necessarily feel like they're determined to keep me. I think there are a lot of factors. So, one, I'm not sure they're determined to keep me, (and) two, there's other opportunities that are exciting. So I think I have to be open-minded ... but at the same time be able to forecast where I'll be most successful and happiest."

The Suns seem to be preparing for the departure of the All-Star point guard, drafting Kendall Marshall and extending a qualifying offer to Aaron Brooks, who spent the last season playing in the Chinese Basketball Association. The offer doesn't necessarily mean the Suns are ready to keep Brooks, but gives them the option to match an offer made by another team if one is made.

While Marshall appears to be the point guard of the future for the Suns, the team seems to have many others on their radar for next season. Goran Dragic has been rumored to be on the top of their list, while other options are Portland's Raymond Felton or Los Angeles' Ramon Sessions.

Though it's unclear who the Suns are targeting, or which team is on the top of Nash's would-be destinations, as free agency lingers it is becoming more and more clear now that the two are preparing to part ways.