Steve Nash Might Be Playing a Lot of Minutes Next Season

The Suns have spent most of the off-season trying to find a backup point guard to spell Steve Nash. But so far, every one of their targets have signed elsewhere. The latest player to fall off the Suns' radar is Tyronn Lue, who agreed to a two-year deal with the Bucks for around $3.9M.

The problem for the Suns has been that all they have to offer somebody is a veteran's minimum contract, which isn't enough to lure anyone of any significant skill. So who's left that might actually take those low dollars for a chance to play in Phoenix? Two names that have come up are Jason Williams of the Heat, and (at the moment, former) Clipper Shaun Livingston.

Williams would be an acceptable pickup I think, and Livingston is still on the road back from that famously horrific knee injury (that I refuse to link to anymore, it was so brutal). The Clippers renounced Livingston's rights, so he's now an unrestricted free agent. He'd be a great signing at the right price, but probably wouldn't be able to contribute until the second half of the season.

Short of the Suns signing one of those guys, they're looking at second year player D.J. Strawberry running the point, or getting a little exotic and using Boris Diaw. But Steve Kerr is all about making things interesting (or tearing the team apart, depending on your perspective) so I wouldn't be surprised to see Phoenix make a trade to fill this need before the start of next season.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-17-2008 @ 1:37PM

D said...

Nash NEEDS relief! Sign someone please!!!

7-17-2008 @ 2:08PM

LAKERS SUCK said...

Bring back Brett's dorky photo.

7-17-2008 @ 2:30PM

Erik said...

Does Leando Barbosa not play for the Suns anymore?

7-17-2008 @ 6:19PM

Brett Edwards said...

Barbosa's a shooting guard, he doesn't play point.

7-17-2008 @ 5:10PM

Hover said...

nash is already getting all the rest he needs (according to the Canadian press anyway).

http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Columnists/Buffery_Steve/2008/07/16/6168276-sun.html

I was saddened to learn yesterday morning that Team Canada was spanked by Slovenia at the Olympic basketball qualifier in Greece.

I think Canada would have done a lot better if Steve Nash was in the lineup, but Nash, of course, can't play because he is tired and banged up from playing so many seasons in the NBA.

Somehow, veteran NBAers like Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, and the Raptors' own Rasho Nesterovic are able to drag their beaten-down bodies to pre-Olympic tournaments. Hell, former Raptors forward Jorge Garbajosa probably has kissed his NBA career away as a result of his commitment to Spanish basketball.

But Nash says he's too tired to play for Canada, and I guess we have to give him the benefit of the doubt. I certainly do, and I'm pleased that Steve is taking steps to rest and recuperate for the coming NBA season, like when he played in a celebrity soccer game a couple of weeks ago in New York City.

I, for one, encourage Steve to take further steps in his pursuit of rest and recuperation. There are plenty of celebrity marathon and decathlon events he can enter this summer ... in an effort to relax and recuperate.

Yes, it's important for Steve to get his priorities in order and that celebrity soccer game in New York was much more important than playing for his country at the Olympic basketball tournament.

Here's to you, Captain Canada ... in your quest for rest and recuperation.

Yes, I've been able to sleep well knowing that Steve Nash is getting the rest he so sorely needs.

7-17-2008 @ 8:48PM

sunnygreene said...

you probably didn't know that steve nash has a really bad back problem. wrestling with that for your entire professional paying and deserved career is tough enough. you probably didn't know either that the suns staff do support nash's soccer because they say it keeps him in shape and stops his back from stiffening up without hurting it too much. and if you cross reference the soccer story, you'd know that it was a charity event of some sort. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3458050 so thank you for reposting that trash here.

7-17-2008 @ 10:45PM

dickey simpkins said...

Isn't Nash going to betting more indirect rest next season simply because they aren't running the D'Antoni offense anymore? No one expects them to average over 100 points a game with Shaq/Grant Hill replacing Marion as the 3rd scoring option full-time this season.