Poor Steve Nash

Over the course of 24 hours the Orlando Magic ripped apart their team and sewed it back together with new parts. First came word of the Magic's trade with Phoenix: out were Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat and Mikael Petrius. In were Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark. Then came word of a deal sending Rashard Lewis to Washington for Gilbert Arenas. Both trades were bold and unlike most trades in the NBA, actually will have huge effects on all parties involved.

First, let's start with Orlando. In getting rid of Vince Carter, who remains my most hated basketball player, they instantly got better. With Vince it's always addition by subtraction (and yes I know the trade with the Nets for Courtney Lee, Tony Battie and Rafer Alston was very responsible for their 12-70 season) so of course I loved the deal. We all know what Jason Richardson will bring but the wild card is Hedo Turkoglu. If he can be rejuvenated playing with Dwight Howard (Hedo hasn't been the same since he left the Magic) again then this suddenly becomes a very potent offense. Adding Arenas should then will turn a potent offense into a ridiculously scary offense. The problem will remain their defense - I'm not sure they improved their chances at beating Boston or Miami in the playoffs, but at the very least GM Otis Smith gave them more weapons in which to attack. You have to appreciate these moves even if you (like me) don't think Gilbert Arenas can be trusted.

As for Washington, I'm not sure in a basketball sense this deal does anything, as Rashard Lewis has been a zombie since leaving the Sonics, but it wasn't about the on-court product. No, this trade was all about getting rid of Gilbert Arenas, his HUGE contract and his off the court distractions. It may be that Gilbert is misunderstood. It may be that he has turned a corner. It may be that he is a good teammate. They all may be true. The problem is that his legacy in Washington will always be about the gun incident and his silly contract. He needed a new opportunity to turn things around. Washington needed the opportunity to move on without him and make John Wall the unrivaled leader of the team. All the needed was someone to take on his contract and they found a partner in Orlando who had an equally terrible contract. It was a match made in heaven.

Finally, let's talk about the Phoenix Suns. This is a team that is now just so disapponting to me. The Suns were the reason I started watching the NBA again. The 2004-05 Suns, led by Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Quentin Richardson and Leandro Barbosa, scored a league high 110.4 points a game and were amazing to watch. Over the years, the pieces have changed, but the result was always the same -up tempo, creative basketball. Then when it came time to re-sign Amare, they decided to go another direction and import Hakim Warrick and Josh Childress to replace him. It has been a disaster as the Suns have limped out to a 12-13 record. Many critics have talked about them getting ready to rebuild and this is the first sign of what is about to happen. After this trade, there is no doubt in my mind that Steve Nash will be traded. I mean, why would you take on Vince Carter when in Jason Richardson you have a more skilled, less baggage version of him? Why would you become more of a front court dominated team when you have Steve Nash leading fast breaks? To me it's all about Vince's expiring contract and the desire to change the image of the team. Nash is the face of the franchise, but he is 36 years old. While he won't kill the management in the press you know he would love to go to NY and play with Amare and for D'Antoni again.

I don't know when Nash will leave town, but I do know this - I feel soooo sorry for him. Even a half season of Vince Carter is enough to drain out all the energy from one's body and one's team. This is the start of some terrible years in Phoenix. Poor Steve Nash.