The best way for Phoenix to move on is to do it without Nash

By Wednesday, on the morning after, with the hole deeper than ever in the second Steve Nash run, Suns president Lon Babby was using his weekly hit on Phoenix radio station KTAR to apologize on behalf of the team. He referred to "that game last night," or what passed for a game, but it's difficult to imagine many of the passionates on Planet Orange accepting this mea culpa.
This is about an entire season. From this point on, it becomes about the confounding direction of an organization that was in the Western Conference finals 8 ½ short/long months ago. Not Nuggets 132, Suns 98 on a Tuesday night in January.
If this looks like the Suns in desperate times -- 16-21, tied for 10th in the West, incapable of rebounding, unable to defend -- just wait. They won't repeat the 2009-10 dream come true of riding the playoff wave into late May. They might not make the postseason at all. There are enough old guys on the roster that dinner might as well be served in the locker room at 4:30.
But move to build a bridge to the next generation? Noooo. That would mean trading Steve Nash. Which brings us back to Tuesday's events blending into Wednesday's radio spot.
Babby said on KTAR he sat next to Nash on the late-night flight from Denver to Phoenix, and that, "He's a great partner and a full partner in what we're trying to do. To me, the notion of trading away our best player is not the solution. He's part of the solution and he wants to be part of the solution. That's not even in my thought process right now.

 

"Steve Nash is not the problem. He's the solution. As long as he wants to be part of this and wants to be a partner in it. I see absolutely no indication otherwise. I would not expect otherwise. We're going to figure this out all together. He is our leader and he is our franchise."
Nash is obviously not the problem, at least beyond doing his part contributing to the defensive woes. He is having another All-Star season of in-game clinics on playing point guard with intelligence, toughness and dedication. In a time of classless exits or players maneuvering to get sprung, his determination to deal with a difficult situation in the twilight of his career is especially appreciated. It's understandable to want him around.
But ...
Nash has a chance to deliver a final meaningful assist to the Suns, and that's by being traded. He is their best hope -- their only hope, really -- to immediately start the desperately needed move to the next generation.
It's not about whether the Suns owe Nash a trade to play the final years of a Hall of Fame career for a championship contender. Nash is owed a great contract and to be treated with the respect of an accomplished veteran who cares about others. The Suns have delivered on both counts.
Nash chose to be here when he signed an extension in summer 2009, with Phoenix coming off a 46-36 record and a third consecutive season of declining victories. Even with the temporary oasis of 2009-10, there was no reason to believe at the time of the new deal that he would be on a playoff regular.
The Suns owe themselves and their fans the chance to maximize the value of a soon-to-be 37-year-old player averaging 17.1 points and 10.7 assists while shooting 51.9 percent. Wish him well, pick a place to put the retired jersey in a few years, thank him for everything, give him a say in a destination if possible. But Phoenix has a losing team, could be top 10 in the lottery and has no building block in place to lead the turnaround.

 

Nash may be playing as if he's 29, but the shot clock is going to wind down at some point.
Grant Hill is 38.
Vince Carter turns 34 on Jan. 26 and is headed to free agency, with somewhere between zero and zero chance the Suns will pick up the $18.3-million option for next season.
Channing Frye is 27.
Hakeem Warrick is 28.
Jared Dudley is 25.
Mickael Pietrus turns 29 on Feb. 7, the same day Nash turns 37.
Goran Dragic is 24.
Marcin Gortat is 26.
Robin Lopez is 22.
Josh Childress is 27.
And Phoenix is building around ...?
Not merely their best player, Nash is the best chance to land prospects or Draft picks, or both, to put the Suns on a path to the future and get away from the 50,000-watt apologies.
It wouldn't be because they owe it to Nash. It would be because they owe it to themselves
Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting.

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