With rumors circulating in the past few days that the Wolves inquiring about Steve Nash’s availability, I thought it would be interesting to take a look into Kahn’s trade mind while answering a few questions Wolves fans are wondering.
Why would the Suns want to get rid of the face of their franchise?
Their situation is much like ours was 4 seasons ago when we were forced to unload KG. Nash is still playing at a high level, but at 36 he can’t keep it up for much longer. The Suns can still get a good return for him via trade, but their window to get anything is closing fast.
Why do we want Nash?
Our point guard play has been atrocious. However, when we do have a good game from a point (Jonny Flynn) we seem to play very well as a team. Flynn looked extremely solid in our two wins last week, while he looked horrendous in the two losses. Getting a leader like Steve Nash will improve our team chemistry, and put us in a much better situation to make a playoff push next year.
The answer we have heard is that they want Nash to mentor Rubio next season. Playing next to an all time great has never been a bad thing for a young improving player. Nash can help Ricky with his shooting form and help him understand how to run an NBA offense in a way he would never learn from Jonny Flynn or Luke Ridinour.
Why would Nash want to come here?
The Wolves may not be the best situation for a player that hasn’t won a championship in his career, but do the Suns really want to make a contender any better than they already are? Of the options the Suns will look at the Wolves have the most young players and picks they would be looking for. Looking through other teams that could put up comparable numbers, there aren’t many options that are better than a team with the leagues leading rebounder who would excel in a pick and pop offense.
Nash loves to run, and the Wolves have been intent on scoring a high amount of points without playing defense for years. He would have free reign on how he wants the offense to run, and be able to leave his mark on a team of young players.
As for not wanting to move from Phoenix to Minneapolis, there is the easy answer that he is from Canada, so it shouldn’t bother him. However, I’d like to point out that Minneapolis is one of the top cities in the US for the arts/culture. Nash has let it be known he loves making movies, and in the future he has said he would love to act. Other than NY and LA, we may be the best option for this to happen.
We may not be the ideal situation for an aging vet, but it is a situation he could live with.
What does Kahn want to give up for Nash?
The way I see it, the Suns will not do this deal without giving up Beasley. Kahn wont deal Love since he has put the Wolves into the spotlight this year with his stellar play, but Beasley has shown his inconsistency and ability to fall in love with his jumper. Beasley is averaging over 20 points a game, and if you don’t see him as a part of your future, now is the time to deal him. With this deal I would also expect them to want a point guard to fill out their roster. That guy on our team is Flynn. He has the potential, but hasn’t shown the skill this year so far. The Suns would be taking a gamble, but they need a guy that could excite their fanbase, and Jonny has that potential.
So, knowing that I would expect the Suns to want Beasley/Flynn Kahn would have to ask for something else back. A draft pick would be nice, but with three first rounders this year already, I can’t see that as something he would ask for. I would expect him to try to get Gortat or Lopez in order to beef up our interior defense. Gortat has an extremely inflated contract, so the Suns owners would most likely prefer to give him up. However, I think by giving up two guys with the potential Beasley and Flynn have, Kahn could get the younger, more reasonably paid Lopez.
Nash would be a great short term fix for the Wolves, and although this season is lost, he could bring relevance back to Minnesota basketball. Next season would be (hopefully) the final season of transition with our future young stud (Rubio) learning from one of the best of all time.