Lon Babby told Steve Nash that he’ll be a Phoenix Sun for
as long as he wants to.

The president of basketball operations told Arizona Sports
620’s Doug and Wolf the team will not look to trade the
37-year-old star, unless of course he decides he’d rather
wear another team’s uniform.

Could that decision lead to a 90s-era Celtics fall from
grace, one that was precipitated by the team holding onto
the remnants of its glory days while refusing to move on?
Babby understands it is possible.

“That’s a judgment you have to make,” he said. “Will this
result in slowing down our progress? Who knows. I don’t
think so, because I look and see what Steve and to the
same extent Grant [Hill] do for Markieff Morris every day,
teaching him how to be a professional and how to be a
pro.”

Indeed, a team full of youth — promising, it may be — is
not guaranteed to find success. Because for every Chicago
Bulls or Oklahoma City Thunder you find, there is also a
Sacramento Kings, Washington Wizards or New Jersey Nets.

It’s tough to win without a superstar player, like a
Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant, but even then it’s important
to have veteran leaders to help lead the way — at least
early on.

“I don’t think you can accomplish this if you don’t have a
rudder,” Babby said of the rebuild. “You can’t just have
young guys and do it that way unless you have the right
role models for them.

“That’s what we believe in and we hope it all turns out to
be right.”

Of course, Babby said things could always change, as Nash
could decide he’d rather play for a contender than try to
help the Suns rebuild. The point guard has no plans to
ask for a trade, though, so it appears the front
office will get to find out if their plan works.

If it does, the Suns should not find themselves down for
long, if at all. If not, though, well, there could be some
lean years ahead.

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