A lot of athletes say the most important thing is to win a championship. Sometimes this is true. Great players like Karl Malone and Gary Payton gave up more lucrative offers to join the Lakers in a quest to win a ring. However, most athletes approach their career the way most people approach a job. They look for the most lucrative opportunity and take it.
Steve Nash has now passed up his best opportunity to win a championship ring by signing an extension with the Suns. Espn is reporting that Nash has agreed to a 2 year extension for 22 million. When he finishes his extension, he’ll be 39. At 39, he most likely won’t be able to win a championship as anything under than a role player. Also, as a 39 year old pg, he’ll be a huge defensive liability. Nash is already regarded as a poor defender. As his speed declines, it’ll be even worse. Nash won’t be able to guard Deron Williams or Chris Paul in their prime, and will struggle with upcoming pgs such as Johnny Flynn, Russell Westbrook, or Jerryd Bayless. Nash may get lucky and join the right team and end up with a championship ring as a role player, but it’s tricky. For every player who is lucky enough to find a championship team, there are two more players who never manage to hook-up with the right situation.
Therefore, Steve Nash will have two more seasons in Phoenix to try to win a championship as the focal point. However, the Suns currently have significantly less talent than the Spurs or Lakers. If somehow they were able to get passed them, they have less talent than Cavaliers, Celtics, Wizards or Magic . The Suns don’t have the cap room either this season, where they have 64 million committed or next season where they have 59 million committed to be a significant player in the free agent market. Additionally, their owner has routinely sold picks and moved players to cut costs, so even if they had space, it’s not clear if they’d spend it. This pattern, especially in light of the Shaq trade, suggest this is not an organization that will win at any cost. Since Nash can’t expect any major help in free agency, his only hope is the current players will develop. However, there’s not that much young talent on the Suns. Based on summer league play, Earl Clark looks like a sold role-player in the future. Robin Lopez seems like an acceptable, but not exceptional option at center. The other younger players, Alando Tucker, Jaredly Dudley, and Channing Frye, all seem like average role-players. The Suns, barring an infusion of top tier draft choice, lack a young core that will develop into a championship team. Acquiring this young core is also an impossibility, because their roster, barring injury, is too good to finish in the bottom of the league. The Suns will most likely lose in the first or second round of the playoffs.
Steve Nash may not have been motivated solely by money in his decision. Phoenix has been very good to him, and he is beloved by the fans. After two MVP season, I could understand staying with the one who brought you. However, at the very least, he won’t win championship in the next two years, and likely, he will never win one. If Nash had chosen not to extend his contract, he could have put some pressure on ownership to improve the team. Now, that Nash is back, the pressure is off and an above average team is the result.
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