Steve Nash has come to a crossroads in his career with the final year approaching in his contract. His team struggled through last season and he fought his new coach Terry Porter’s defensive oriented style from the beginning. Under Coach Porter his numbers quickly declined as he struggled to adjust to a slower paced, east coast type half-court offensive setup. After the Phoenix Suns organization realized the locker room battle between the team and Coach Porter, they made the right decision and appointed assistant coach Alvin Gentry to the interim head coaching position for the team. He was the obvious best pick after being with the team since the 2004 season. Under Coach Gentry the team went back to its fast paced up tempo offense that previously had allowed Nash to flourish. Even though the Suns did not make the playoffs Nash ended up with some career best stats by the end of the season.

It is obvious at this point that his productive years in the NBA are numbered, but he is still one of the greatest point guards in the game. He is the best shooting percentage point guard in the NBA and has some of the best passing skills anyone has ever seen. He still has the ability to lead the right team to an NBA championship. He has made it clear at this point that he only wants to play for a contender. The Suns organization expressed their interest in signing Nash to an extension this off-season but he declined until he saw what team the Suns would put on the court next season.

The Phoenix Suns have been one of the most exciting teams in the NBA over the last few years but have fell short of reaching the real prize. They made a major change last season in hopes of winning a championship by acquiring Shaquille O’Neal for a disgruntled Shawn Marion. Shawn quickly learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Shaq brought the city high hopes when he first came to town pointing at his ring finger and promising a championship. As we all know this did not come true. Shaq did better then any true NBA fan could have expected him to with the team but it was not enough to reach their goal. It only got worse last season between the coaching changes and injuries. It has quickly become obvious this Suns team is nowhere near contending for a championship. The only smart thing to do at this point is to break up the old veteran core and continue to build off their young core of Barbosa, Tucker, Dragic, Dudley, Amundson, and Lopez. They have four very valuable assets that they could use to rebuild this team in; Shaq, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and Jason Richardson.

One of the most valued positions in the league right now is the point guard. Many teams are one small piece away from contending for a championship. They need an experienced veteran to lead their team to the promise land. This makes Steve Nash one of the best assets the Suns have. Everyone has pointed out Nash’s flaws on defense but with the right team to back him up that is not a problem. The Portland Trailblazers have many key pieces in place to contend for a championship. They are just missing a floor general that can lead their team on the offensive side. The young core of amazing talent that they posses added to the leadership and offensive skills of Steve Nash could push them over the edge. With all the young talent they have it will only be a matter of time before they are forced to trade some of them due to salary restrictions. Portland should have a win now mentality to get them the championship that they are capable of achieving. The Phoenix Suns are in a rebuild mode and are looking towards the future.

Portland also has many assets that would make a sign and trade with Nash to Portland a great win situation for both teams. Portland is stacked at the point guard position with Steve Blake starting, Sergio Rodriguez as a backup, and Jerryd Bayless not getting off the bench.  The best trade to help both teams with their overall goals would send Steve Nash to Portland for Jerryd Bayless and Travis Outlaw. These salaries are only a little bit off so there would have to be some filler exchanged both ways to make it work. Bayless would never even be missed and still keep the Portland Trailblazers in championship contending form. The Suns would get another young point guard to compete with Goran Dragic to help them years down the line and a versatile forward to play with Grant Hill (if he re-signs) and Jared Dudley. Portland the true winners in the exchange get the services of one of the best point guards to play the game to potentially push them over that hump and help them compete for a championship. Could you imagine a core of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Nicolas Batum, and Steve Nash leading the floor? That has the potential to be a championship contending team. This move helps both teams and is rumored to be in discussion.