NBA trade deadline! It’s happening! Real soon! Hide your kids! Hide your wife!
As I write this, we are coming up to being two weeks away from the February 24th NBA trade deadline. You all know at this point enough about the Carmelo Anthony to New York rumors/truths. They’ve been going on for a while. And really, they keep getting more outlandish, with the Denver Nuggets reportedly asking the Knicks for everything in return for Melo. But if Newsday’s Alan Hahn is to be believed (and he should, he knows these things), the Nuggets and the Knicks are now going to be hammering out the actual details of a trade until at least the 22nd. So let’s put this one to bed for now. There are, believe it or not, other possible trades out there. And they could be huge.
For this post, my personal favorite: the possibility of Steve Nash (currently of the Phoenix Suns) being shipped off to the Dallas Mavericks. Why is this my favorite? For a few reasons. Reason one: I love Steve Nash. At 37, the two-time MVP is still a phenomenal player. And he is really having a great season in Phoenix, this despite his team’s co-stars fleeing town for New York or Orlando. Right now, Nash has the second most assists-per-game in the NBA at 11.2 – that’s about two assists more per game than Chris Paul.
So yes, he’s a great talent. But, leading into reason two, Nash has incredibly never gotten himself a championship title. And at 37, he sure won’t be getting one if he sticks with the Amar’e-less Suns. So why the Mavericks? First off, they actually have a legitimate shot at a title. Right now, the Mavs actually have the second best record in the West and the fourth best in the league. But there’s just about no way that the Mavs are going to get past the Spurs or Lakers in the West unless they make a big trade – hence talk a week or so ago about the team being up for “renting” Carmelo Anthony.
But why Rent-a-Melo when you can Own-a-Nash? Especially when, as most of you know, Steve Nash was the Dallas Mavericks from 1998 until 2004 when he left town for Phoenix. And there’s no question that Dallas could use him – with their current point guard, Jason Kidd, really in use of some help. There’s little doubt that Nash could be the piece Dallas needs to at least temporarily best San Antonio, Miami, and L.A. And really, a Dirk Nowitzki-Steve Nash reunion would be both incredible to watch and, frankly, adorable. For evidence of adorable, see: Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, and Exhibit 3.
Steve has largely been abandoned in Phoenix. He’s on a rebuilding team right now, and that means a team without Amar’e Stoudemire, without Jason Richardson, and instead with a banged up Vince Carter. The Phoenix Suns don’t have the time right now to rebuild in time for Nash. Nash only has a few years left in him in this game. And more than just about anyone else in the league, the lovable Canadian deserves his ring.
And as Bill Simmons points out, this trade is actually feasible. As I just said, the Suns are a rebuilding team, and as such they’re in a position to take some of the more win-later pieces and expiring contracts (Butler, Stevenson) from the win-now Mavs. While it would surely break the hearts of many Phoenix fans to see Steve go, most fans know that Steve Nash is not their future, but rather their treasured soon-to-be-past. And while it would surely hurt for Phoenix fans to watch Nash prosper elsewhere, after everything the man has done for them it’s hard to imagine fans not giving him a standing ovation when he next comes to town.
Most importantly for all of us not named Steve Nash or Mark Cuban, from a fan’s standpoint this trade would be mind blowing. Could you imagine the intensity of One Last Title Run from Nash and Nowitzki? And even Shawn Marion? At the very least, it would be a hell of a lot better than just watching the Heat and Lakers go at it in June.
But the realistic likelihood of Nash leaving Phoenix in the next week? It’s kinda hard to tell. It’s hard to hear much at all over all of the Melo clamoring. But whether this exact trade happens or not, expect something major to happen in the next week, something that has otherwise slipped through the Melo-sized cracks. And stick here for more coverage, speculation, and wishful thinking.
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