Steve Nash wants to play with LeBron in Miami

Phoenix Suns’ point guard Steve Nash will be a free agent this offseason and he has already started to ponder where he may want to play next year; for the Miami Heat.

Nash revealed on the Dan Patrick Show that he will not re-sign with the Suns if they don’t make improvements for next season. Although he didn’t definitively say he would play for the Heat if the Suns didn’t get better he said he would listen if LeBron James asked him to join the team.

James failed to convince ex-Laker Derek Fisher to join the Heat after he was released by the Houston Rockets but from the sounds of it he may not have to work that hard to recruit Nash who basically placed the ball in James court. The question now is would Nash be a good fit for Miami?

I ask that question because the Heat are a defensive team and defense has never been one of Nash’s strong suits. He may not be as bad as Mike Bibby was last season but he would definitely be a liability on that side of the ball.

Nash’s only saving grace is how efficient he is on offense. He can still shoot lights out and is crafty enough to get by defenders with his herky-jerky dribble. Oh yeah and despite turning 38 in February, he is still one of the best passers in the game.

And with Nash tossing lobs to the big three and effectively running the pick and roll with Chris Bosh; the Heat could be an even more dangerous scoring team than they are now. Miami currently scores 101.02 points per game so imagine how much of a scoring boost they would get from Nash’s presence.

Problem is Miami would need that extra scoring to offset the extra points they would give up from teams exploiting Nash’s poor defense. Despite it all though, they would be a much better team with Nash at the helm.

But would Nash sacrifice money to get a ring? The Heat will only be able to offer him the mid-level exception next year because they lack the cap space to offer him anything else. Nash would command way more than that on the open market.

Which may be another reason why Nash said that he would “listen” if James made overtures for him to play there next season. A ring would cement Nash’s legacy but with this possibly being his last payday he may find the money to hard to pass up.

Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.

 

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