Steve Nash Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Suns Rumors: Gordon, Dragic, Nash

July 2nd, 2012 at 10:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns have been notable in recent years for the way their training staff has perpetuated the careers of Steve Nash and Grant Hill. They may not have as many aging bodies to work with next season, though, as several other teams are chasing Nash, and Hill is drawing plenty of interest as well. When Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors previewed Phoenix's offseason in May, he said that if Nash leaves, the Suns might be best served by saving their ample cap space for the future and focusing on building through the draft for now. Still, the Suns appear to have significant free agent targets, including Eric Gordon and Goran Dragic, and there's more news on them tonight.

The Suns are considering making a maximum four-year, $58MM offer to Gordon, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets.

Earlier updates:

Latest On Steve Nash

July 1st, 2012 at 8:42pm CST by Luke Adams

8:42pm: Nash met with the Raptors and Knicks today while the Nets will make their pitch tomorrow morning, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Nets like Nash both as a potential Deron Williams replacement and teammate.

4:22pm: Nash is meeting with the Nets today, a league source tells Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

1:39pm: Nash tells ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter link) that he's eager to talk to the Mavericks if their pursuit of Deron Williams falls through. However, Stein hears that the Knicks and Raptors are Nash's top two choices at the moment, in no particular order.

1:16pm: The Suns are interested in Landry Fields as part of a possible sign-and-trade deal for Nash, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Again, such a trade would have to include other pieces in addition to Fields, and Nash would probably have to accept a below-market-value salary to choose the Knicks over other suitors. But the Suns do have interest in Fields.

11:18am: The Knicks have had "exploratory talks" with the Suns about a potential sign-and-trade for Nash, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Such a deal would allow Nash to make more than the $3.09MM mini mid-level exception the Knicks can offer.

To match salaries, the Knicks would probably have to offer at least two or three players such as Iman Shumpert, Toney Douglas, Landry Fields, and Steve Novak. Even then, Nash could make more money elsewhere, and would be playing a part in depleting the Knicks' roster in order to get to New York. Nash to the Knicks continues to look like a real long shot to me, though that's just my speculation.

The Suns, meanwhile, haven't scheduled an in-person meeting with Nash, but contacted him last night, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.

12:48am: The Knicks, Raptors, Nets, Mavs and Suns are making early recruiting pitches to Steve Nash, according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, via Twitter. The Heat and Pacers are also involved, according to TNT's David Aldridge (Twitter link), but the Trail Blazers are not, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick.

While Portland was viewed by some teams around the league as a contender for Nash, Joe Freeman of the Oregonian tweets that the Blazers aren't looking to bring aboard aging veterans or quick fixes. Freeman adds in a pair of tweets that, while Portland may decide to sign a veteran point guard, the team won't add anyone to compete with rookie Damian Lillard for the starting gig. Any acquisition must be okay with backing up and mentoring the sixth overall pick.

As for Nash, we've heard over the last couple days that the Raptors' pitch to the Canadian star is expected to be aggressive and extensive. According to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (Twitter link), the Raps are pitching Nash on post-retirement opportunities with the franchise, while Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that Toronto has Nash hero Wayne Gretzky ready to call the point guard on Sunday to help with the recruitment.

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Raptors Offer Nash Three-Year, $36MM Deal

July 1st, 2012 at 3:27pm CST by Zachary Links

The Raptors have offered free agent point guard Steve Nash a three-year, $36 million contract, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Industry sources monitoring the free-agent market have identified Toronto as one of the four teams with the best chance of signing him away from the Suns along with the Mavs, Knicks, and Nets.

Steve Nash Expects Quick Free Agent Decision

June 30th, 2012 at 8:39am CST by Luke Adams

We're currently less than 15 hours away from the start of the NBA's 2012 free agent period, and Steve Nash doesn't expect to take much time to decide on his destination. Nash tells ESPN.com's Marc Stein that he might make his decision within the "first day or so" of free agency.

"It's crazy to decide on the next three years of your life in an afternoon or a day," Nash said. "Just because things happen fast. People want to get it out of the way and move on. Not only myself but the teams as well. If something funny happens and I want to take my time, I'll definitely take my time. But the way these things go, I feel, usually (they) happen quick."

As we heard yesterday, the Raptors are expected to make an aggressive pitch to the Canadian point guard, and ESPN.com's John Hollinger (Insider link) thinks Toronto could be the frontrunner. According to Stein, the Raptors' offer could approach $12MM annually. Nash acknowledged that the Raps probably won't become a title contender anytime in the near future, even if the signs there, but said he'll still consider them.

"The Raptors would be one of those teams where you're probably not going there to win a championship in the next three years," Nash said. "For me it'd be going home to Canada, to a great city, and trying to help an organization move forward…. I'm going to look at every opportunity and Toronto will be one that I'll study as well and look at the opportunity for them to grow in the next three years and what kind of impact I can have on that team. And obviously from a community standpoint, it's a special place for me."

The Knicks also appear ready to make a pitch to Nash, and will have a contingent in New York to recruit Nash tomorrow, says Stein, but they can't compete with Nash's other suitors from a financial standpoint. The Mavericks and Nets also could be in the mix, particularly whichever team finds itself on the short end of the Deron Williams sweepstakes. The Mavs are prepared to offer the 38-year-old a two-year deal, according to Stein.

What's becoming more clear is that Nash seems unlikely to re-sign in Phoenix. While at one point the Suns appeared to be the favorites, Nash says he no longer views them as a "home run" and thinks the team may be moving in a different direction.

"For the first time I realize that it might not be Phoenix," Nash said. "I would have said even in the middle of (last) season or last year that I would have thought I probably would have stayed in Phoenix forever. But it's come to a point now where I'm facing the reality that's not (the case)."

As we prepare for free agency, you can check out Hoops Rumors' full list of unrestricted free agents right here.

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Pacific Rumors: Lakers, Nash, Kings, Kirilenko

June 29th, 2012 at 11:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

The major news of the day in the Pacific Division, and the league, for that matter, is the four-team trade that brings Lamar Odom back to the Clippers, his original NBA team. Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press writes about several key decision the Wolves have to make Saturday, many of which may be tied to the team's pursuit of Pau Gasol via trade with the Lakers. Richardson mentions that Michael Beasley has been working out in Los Angeles with former Laker Norm Nixon, who says his old team would "love" to sign Beasley. Nixon doesn't speak for the Lakers in an official capacity, of course, but it's just one more intriguing tidbit as Sunday's start to free agent negotiation's draws near. Here's more from the West Coast:

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic says it seems Steve Nash's days in Phoenix are over, as the Suns appear unwilling to come close to the $11.7MM he earned in 2011/12. Coro believes another team will give Nash an offer that approaches that figure.

Earlier updates:

Raptors To Aggressively Recruit Nash In New York

June 29th, 2012 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

Reports of the Raptors' strong interest in Steve Nash are gaining steam, with Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld reporting last night that Toronto was planning a "hard push" for the Canadian point guard. Marc Stein of ESPN.com has specific details on the team's recruiting plan, tweeting that the Raptors intend to park "no less than a five-deep contingent" in Manhattan as soon as allowed. According to Stein (Twitter link), Raps GM Bryan Colangelo wooed Nash in the same aggressive way for Phoenix, and quickly signed him in 2004.

Odds & Ends: Nash, Lakers, Kings, Bulls, Rockets

June 29th, 2012 at 12:46am CST by Luke Adams

Another NBA draft is in the books, and once again, we're reminded that no matter how many draft rumors we read, and how many mock drafts we run through, we have no idea what will happen on draft night. While the latest version of Hoops Rumors' own mock draft looked okay a couple days ago, you can count our accurate picks on one hand. Be sure to check out the complete draft results for a rundown of every pick and trade from Thursday night, but with the draft behind us, we're looking ahead to free agency. Here are a few post-draft odds and ends from around the Association:

Kyler On Gordon, Nash, Thunder, Randolph

June 28th, 2012 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

In an earlier post, we passed along the latest on the Rockets' pursuit of Dwight Howard, courtesy of HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler. Kyler's NBA AM piece at HoopsWorld has a few other items of note though, including updates on Eric Gordon, Steve Nash, and the Thunder. Let's round up the highlights….

Steve Nash Discusses Free Agent Options

June 28th, 2012 at 8:10am CST by Luke Adams

The market's top free agent, Deron Williams, may not be planning to meet with or visit any teams when free agency begins on July 1st, but it sounds like another top free agent point guard is looking forward to it. Steve Nash tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that it will be interesting to hear the pitches presented by potential suitors, beginning on Sunday. According to Spears, the Suns, Knicks, Raptors, Mavericks, and Nets are expected to be in on the two-time MVP.

Odds & Ends: Hornets, Nash, Magic, Bucks

June 25th, 2012 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

The good news keeps coming for the Hornets in what's been a very successful offseason so far. Not only are they set to draft Anthony Davis on Thursday, but they've cleared out their two biggest contracts, and now, according to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times Picayune, they're set to announce a new TV deal. Smith reports that the Hornets' new deal will be on a cable network called Fox Sports New Orleans, and will pay the team roughly $10MM annually for the next ten years. It could be announced as soon as today, says Smith.

Here are a few more Monday afternoon odds and ends from around the NBA: