ADAM GREEN

Suns low-balling Steve Nash is a puzzling move

Jul 2, 2012, 9:29 PM | Updated: 10:38 pm

The Suns almost pulled it off, too.

Over the last two seasons there have been many calling for
the team to trade Steve Nash, parting with the two-time
MVP while they could still get something of value in
return. To their credit (or detriment), they refused.

Instead, the Suns maintained that they wanted to give fans
a chance to watch one of the game’s greatest point guards
continue to play at a high level. Sure, they missed the
playoffs both seasons, but Nash was still Nash and the
games were more entertaining with him on the court.

In truth, while that may have played a part in the team’s
reluctance to make a deal, the real reason they didn’t
make a move is because they were afraid of being looked at
as the bad guys, of being the group that traded Steve
Nash.

Hell, Ken Kendrick still gets flak for how things were
handled with Luis Gonzalez, and that was absolutely the
right move to make.

The Suns almost pulled it off, too.

Bryan Colangelo, who convinced Nash to leave Dallas for
Phoenix some eight years ago, presented the 38-year-old
with an offer he can’t — or, at least, shouldn’t —
refuse.

Three years, $36
million.

Wow.

For that price the Suns would be foolish to get involved.
After all, they’re clearly rebuilding, just drafted Nash’s
replacement and, for all intents and purposes, should move
on. And, lucky for them, another team stepped up and made
an offer that no one would blame Nash for taking, and no
one would be upset with the Suns for not matching.

The Suns almost pulled it off, too.

Unfortunately for the Suns, the parameters of their offer
to Nash leaked Monday.

Two years, $12 million. Or, put another way, $6 million
per year.

Or, in other words, less than what Josh Childress makes.
The offer is as offensive as it is ridiculous. It’s
ridiculously offensive.

Steve Nash may have been willing to give the Suns some
sort of discount, but there is no way he takes a
50 percent paycut to play for a team that is closer to the
top five of the draft than it is the top five of the NBA.

Nash made roughly $11.5 million for his work last season,
a year where the team struggled but he did not. The
veteran averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists per game,
while shooting .532 from the field and .390 from three-point range.

In other words, while Nash may have lost a step or two,
the game has not yet passed him by. The Suns have to know
this, and while they may be finally ready to cut ties and
move on, but still, why the low-ball offer?

It appears the Suns, while saying they wanted to keep
Nash, never really had any intention of doing so. That, or
they seriously misjudged the market for the point guard,
and are unwilling to adjust. This would not be the first
time the Suns have low-balled key members of the
organization (Steve Kerr says hi, by the
way), though it is arguably the most shocking.

All along it seemed as though the Suns’ plan was to come
out looking like the good guys. Or, at least, looking as
good as possible when the franchise has gone from
perennial contender to lottery stalwart within a span of
just a few years.

Nash was going to leave, they were going to move on, fans
would be understanding and no one would be upset.

The Suns almost pulled it off, too.

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