Marc Stein breaks down the latest word on the futures of superstars Steve Nash and Jason Kidd over on ESPN.com. Bay Area born and raised Kidd is a free agent, but unless he equates going out with a bang with leading his hometown Golden State Warriors to a miraculous 8th seed and a 1st round exit I doubt he's in the Warriors future. Nash on the other hand is at the mercy of Suns front office man Steve Kerr, which means he can't avoid the suck that is Chris Cohan and Robert Rowell's Warriors on his own.
Kobe was ROBBED of the 2006 MVP.
Portland, Golden State, Toronto, New York and Houston are five teams we know of that are either readying or contemplating bids for Nash, with the Blazers listed first not only because of their interest in a push-the-pace veteran leader but because they could furnish Phoenix with multiple youngsters -- Jerryd Bayless and Travis Outlaw, just to name two for starters -- if the Suns decide they want to start over.
We can sit here and dissect Steve Nash's impact on the Warriors and what would be worth giving up for him (if anything at all), but that's fairly pointless. Point blank: Nash ain't coming to the Warriors. Kerr's not trading him here and I doubt the Warriors are genuinely that interested in adding him.
This is essentially more front office posturing by the Warriors (just like the did around this year's past trading deadline for Chris Bosh) to keep fans interested and the season tickets selling. Warrior fans are dumb (witness the Roaracle sellouts and undying fan support and interest for a team that's missed the playoffs 14 out of the last 15 years), but not that dumb.
So let's hypothesize about a more "unstoppable baby" topic in light of our ongoing 2008-2009 WDWY (Worst Defensive Warrior of the Year) balloting...
Nellie has gone on record saying Steve Nash is the greatest player he ever coached, but he's not exactly a coach that places much emphasis on defense. I remain amazed by Nash's uncanny shooting and passing ability, but I still think he's the most overrated player of the post-Jordan era. Only a fool would argue that he isn't a great player, but an all-time great? A player deserving of back-to-back MVP trophies?
I don't think so. Not with that horrendous defense.
Which brings me to my next point. When the Warriors traded for Jamal Crawford this past season, I thought they had assembled the worst starting defensive backcourt in the entire association and quite possibly of all-time with JC and Monta Ellis. Unfortunately that was pretty spot on. But can it get any worse?
Even more unfortunate- yes, with Nash on board.
Can you imagine how many career nights a duo of Steve Nash and Crawford or Ellis would surrender to random 12th men and NBDL call-ups this past season? What if the Warriors managed to keep all three? When Nellie subbed one out, he's substituting a non-defender for another non-defender.
To tell you the truth that would be pretty hilarious. Part of me is just curious to see if the Warriors could give up 120 ppg next season. If you're going to suck (like the Warriors have done), then don't settle for (suck) mediocrity. Be the most suck that you can be.
Who's down for the Nash + JC or Nash + Monta or the wonder that would be a complete backcourt rotation of Nash + JC + Monta?
99% of rumors never happen, but 99% of them are fun to talk about!
More discussion on this rumor over at Golden Boy's FanShot.