By Steve Nash: “It’s going to be a big project for me to really get to the bottom of what is the best thing for me.”
April 18, 2012 – 9:45 am by Steven Cuce
The Phoenix Suns are arguably the best story in the NBA this season coming from out of no where to find themselves in the No.8 spot in the Western Conference at 32-29 with five games remaining. Let’s just say the expectations for the Suns this season were real low to start, and Steve Nash was presumed to be the looming story as the season closed. Well, the Suns playoff push has distracted some Arizona NBA fans from the worry of losing Nash next year, but it hasn’t stopped the media.
Let’s make one thing clear: Steve Nash has been a class act throughout his time in Phoenix and he’s tried his best to hold off the questions surrounding his future. Nash is a team first player and wants to clear his head after the season concludes. Here are two different interviews from the Suns point guard regarding his future.
Steve Nash joined KTAR in Phoenix with Burns and Gambo to discuss what the Phoenix Suns need to do in order to keep him next year, family playing a factor in his free agency decision, how close the Phoenix Suns are from being the team he wants to stay with in the future, recruiting free agents to play in Phoenix and taking less money to sign with a contender that can win an NBA championship.
What do you think Suns management needs to do in order to retain the services of Steve Nash?
“Well it’s…I couldn’t really sit here and tell you what those rules would be, but I think for me I want to try to see this organization be a contender again and be in the picture where we have the chance to knock off contenders and build a team that gets back to late May in the playoffs and June and if not the finals one day, so I want that for the fans. I want that for myself and I think the organization wants it to, so hopefully this summer whatever those moves may be there’s a lot of different directions you can go give a franchise in a sense of a chance to be competitive in the playoffs again.”
How much will family play a factor in your decision since they live here in Phoenix?
“It’s one factor, but it’s not going to be the deciding factor. There’s a lot of ways around that, so the family situation is not me being number one or the only factor. It’s one of many factors to throw in the hat. The family situation isn’t immovable or a permanent one. That can be on that is sorted out as well, so that’s not something I am thinking about at this stage and frankly I’m not even thinking about free agency because it’s…besides tough games on the plate and us being in the No.8 seed that is more than enough to keep me busy these days.”
How close do you think you are from achieving this vision that you want in the off-season? How close are the Phoenix Suns from where you want them to be?
“First of all if you think of the positives we have a great fan base. We have a great coach and we have I think a bunch of guys that I think are good people, winners that play unselfish basketball, so when you add to the mix a couple of players or whatever, maybe one or two or three depending on who and how you have a chance to really elevate a team. It’s hard to predict, but anything is possible. I think this franchise definitely has a great opportunity this summer with the flexibility and cap space it has to improve a great deal whether that is just one step up the ladder or three or four has yet to be seen, but it should be an exciting time for some fans and we’ll see how it all plays out in the summer.”
Are you going to recruit free agents out there?
“Well I mean I think it is early to say. I’m not even sure what the rules are on that. I want to see this franchise do well. If that’s going to be a deciding factor on me coming back then I’d obviously want to do what I can to help. Who knows what is going to happen? Who knows what other opportunities will be out there for me? I want to really just wait and see and clear my mind more than anything. I’ve been here for right fantastic years and this is home. If it were time to move on I think it is going to demand a lot of thought and debate on my part and figure out a lot of things, so it’s a little bit of a tricky situation in that aspect. I think I have definitely earned the opportunity to sit back and take it all in and decide what is best for me. I wish I had a crystal ball, but I think the best and smartest move for me is to play this season out with everything I got then afterwards start to think about what the future may hold.”
Would you take less money to go to a contender if you felt you could win a championship?
“It’s possible, but at this point though I really don’t know…like I said with the family and with the money. These are all just one factor and a bunch of different factors. I just want to put them all in and evaluate all the different factors and all the things to consider and where I fit best and what fits me best and then you do your pros and cons and try to come up with the best possible place, but it’s definitely not out of the question to take less money to go to a situation where it fits you better, but it’s really early for me. I haven’t even sat down to think about those things. We’ll see. I’ve been putting this off obviously I want to play out the season the best we can and be successful and have a fun run, but it is going to be a big, big, big project for me to really get to the bottom of what is the best thing for me.”
Listen to Steve Nash on 620 KTAR in Phoenix here
Steve Nash joined WFAN in New York with Joe & Evan to discuss his take on Mike D’Antoni resigning as New York Knicks head coach.
What was your take on what happened to Mike D’Antoni from afar?
“Well as I look from a distance from the way I looked at it, it just seemed like he never really got his team. They kept waiting for that free agent summer and they didn’t get LeBron [James]. They got Amar’e [Stoudemire], which was a great pickup. Then the next year they built a team that was playing really well. Raymond Felton was playing really well. Danilo Gallinari was becoming a key figure. They had some other pieces with Amar’e. They were playing great basketball and then they made a trade and brought Carmelo [Anthony], which was a great pickup, but they lost a lot of guys. I think they were fighting to get that chemistry again and that depth. They signed Tyson Chandler, which was another great pickup, but then Carmelo was out. They struggled to have success when Carmelo came back. They are still trying to find their chemistry if you think about it. He hadn’t played a lot of games with those guys. It’s very, very young in their time together. Before they could find any success the pressure got the best of everyone whenever it was, before they ever had a chance to make a run with the players on the team they had been waiting to get and it was over. It’s unfortunate. I think first of all he [Mike D’Antoni] is a great person and a great basketball mind and for me they just never really had a chance with the long wait to get their team and then they finally got them together. They didn’t have much time to produce together.”
Listen to Steve Nash on 660 WFAN in New York here
Tags: 660 WFAN in New York, Alvin Gentry, Burns and Gambo, Joe & Evan, Mike D’Antoni, NBA, Phoenix Suns, Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix, Steve Nash
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