Nash had much to do with Shaq trade

by ere9517 on Jun 28, 2009 2:06 PM MST

Steve Kerr remains the one responsible for the O'neal trade and yet new rumors have surfaced that it was Nash who asked that the trade be made in the first place.

Nash in an article written by Tim Povtak, apparently implied that if O'neal was still in a Suns uniform by next season Nash's future with the team would be in question. Nash said to be unhappy with O'neal's inability to keep up with the fast pace offense and his frequest request to big a larger part of the offense wanted O'neal out.

This seems somewhat easy to believe since Nash and O'neal did not have a great relationship, and even more evident in the two games which Nash did not play O'neal scored forty points in both.

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Well Nash said openly that his new contract hinged on the suns getting more athletic bigs while thats not spitting on oneal’s grave he doesn’t exactly leave much chance we keep him. It doesn’t matter though Shaq wanted out(he was talking about the next team since like five days after he got here. You don’t tweet about how cheep the owner is, and tell other players to get out while they can if you’re planning on sticking around.

by this i on Jun 28, 2009 2:30 PM MST reply actions

I don't know what's true with this front office

Would be just like them to put out this spin, ostracize Nash in an attempt to drive him out of PHX. Sounds like they want to burn it all down anyway, so why would they want Nash back?

Who are these guys again?

by ZonaFlash on Jun 28, 2009 2:38 PM MST reply actions

Steve Kerr is looking for a scapegoat

He’s blowing up the team and doesn’t want the blame. His contract is up for renewal soon (next year maybe?) and he doesn’t want the blame for his poor performance.

by ninjasocks on Jun 28, 2009 3:03 PM MST reply actions

Hard to fire a minority owner... =)

Who are these guys again?

by ZonaFlash on Jun 29, 2009 9:44 AM MST up reply actions

Trust me steve kerr will be here as long as he wants because sarver and he are good buds and neighbors in san diego and sarver behind closed doors will know it’s his money hoarding that has caused all of these problems in recent years.

by this i on Jun 28, 2009 4:59 PM MST reply actions

I certainly don’t want to defend Sarver, but I don’t think you can call him a money hoarder. Last season the Suns had the 8th highest payroll in the league and are going to be forced to pay the luxury tax.

What “problems in recent years” are you referring to? You mean not winning a championship? We can argue all day and night and into next week about what was wrong, but it certainly wasn’t because Sarver didn’t want to spend money.

by RD74 on Jun 28, 2009 5:39 PM MST up reply actions

As far as Nash forcing the Shaq trade, I thought that was common knowledge. “nash couldn’t operate with Shaq clogging the middle…” etc…That story is everywhere. Regardless, dumping 20 million and a 37 year old gigantic injury risk seemed inevitable. Especially when the team is going back to that fast paced style of play.

I agree the experiment of turning this team into a Spurs Jr. didn’t work. Shaq was wrong, Terry Porter was wrong. But on paper, it seemed like the right thing to do-beat the Spurs at their own game. Problem was, the team wasn’t built for that, and they certainly weren’t built for Terry Porter’s philosophy.

Sure, they could be trying to turn Nash into the bad guy, like Joe Johnson (arguably), but I doubt it. The one thing this franchise is big on is tradition, filling the ring of honor and all, because they can’t fill the rafters with Championship banners. Steve Nash won himself two MVP’s and played a huge role in the teams success since his return. He’s a fan favorite and a potential hall of famer. Don’t you think the franchise wants him wearing a Suns jersey if and when he goes?

Of course anything is possible, but I doubt Kerr and Sarver want to go down in Suns history as the brain trust that couldn’t win a championship and ran some great players (and coaches) out of town.

by RD74 on Jun 28, 2009 5:55 PM MST up reply actions