Steve Nash Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Acquire Steve Nash Via Sign-And-Trade

July 10th, 2012 at 11:10pm CST by Sean Highkin

JULY 10TH, 11:10pm: The sign-and-trade sending Nash from the Suns to the Lakers in exchange for four draft picks is official, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. The Lakers confirmed the news in a press release.

JULY 4TH, 8:09pm: Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets that the Suns will receive the Lakers' 2013 and 2015 first-round picks and their 2013 and 2014 second-round picks.

Raptors Shopping Jose Calderon

July 6th, 2012 at 3:16pm CST by Zachary Links

JULY 6th, 3:16pm: There's a "growing sense" around the league that the Raptors will either trade or keep Calderon, rather than amnestying him, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).

JULY 1st, 11:52am: The Raptors are trying to trade Calderon so that they don't need to amnesty his expiring contract, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Stein adds in a second tweet that the Raps are seeking a trade partner with a big enough trade exception or chunk of cap space to absorb Calderon's salary. The Nuggets are the only team with a trade exception large enough for Calderon's contract, so finding a deal could be tricky.

Lakers Rumors: Bynum, Gasol, Beasley, Sessions

July 5th, 2012 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers made their first big splash of the 2012/13 season last night, agreeing to a sign-and trade deal to acquire Suns point guard Steve Nash. After news of the agreement broke, there was speculation that it might be just the first shoe to drop for the Lakers. However, Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com hears from a source that L.A. expects to keep its core intact, suggesting you shouldn't hold your breath for a trade involving Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol (Twitter link). Here are a few more Thursday morning Lakers notes:

Knicks Emerge As Frontrunners For Steve Nash

July 4th, 2012 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

5:15pm: NBA.com's David Aldridge tweets that Nash has yet to make a final decision on where he wants to play. He adds that the Suns are waiting on the Hornets' decision on matching Eric Gordon's offer sheet before engaging in sign-and-trade talks.

2:25pm: The Mavericks and Raptors haven't conceded yet, and remain in discussions for Nash, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

12:35pm: The Lakers were also exploring a sign-and-trade deal for Nash, but their efforts so far have been blocked by the Suns' brass, who have no desire to send Nash to a division rival, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

12:07pm: The Knicks have emerged as the frontrunners for Nash, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Knicks and Suns are in the "critical stages" of negotiating a sign-and-trade deal that would pay Nash $27-30MM for three years.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein tweets that the Knicks would prefer not to include Shumpert and are looking to include a third team to join the deal to avoid including him. However, they'll include Shumpert if they have to, a source tells Stein (Twitter link).

11:46am: While the Knicks and Suns haven't reached any agreement, the Knicks are offering a package headlined by Iman Shumpert, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

11:32am: Berman now tweets that the Knicks and Suns are still working on a sign-and-trade deal, and that "nothing is done" at this point.

11:03am: Berman has since deleted his tweet, so it's unclear if his report stands. We'll keep you posted on the latest developments.

10:48am: The Knicks are "closing in" on a sign-and-trade deal to acquire Steve Nash from the Suns, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. In order to pay Nash a competitive salary and make a sign-and-trade palatable for the Suns, the Knicks will likely have to include Iman Shumpert and a handful of players on expiring contracts, including Toney Douglas, Jerome Jordan, Josh Harrellson, and Dan Gadzuric.

The Raptors, Mavericks, Lakers, and Suns are among the other teams in the running for Nash. Toronto appeared to deal a death blow to the Knicks' chances of a sign-and-trade for the veteran point guard when they agreed to sign Landry Fields to an offer sheet worth about $19MM. Fields had been viewed as the most likely candidate to be included in a sign-and-trade deal to the Suns.

Previous reports have suggested that if the Knicks do part with Shumpert in a sign-and-trade for Nash, it will likely be James Dolan's decision, as most members of the team's front office are reluctant to part with the young guard.

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Steve Nash Rumors: Wednesday

July 4th, 2012 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

The race for Steve Nash got awfully interesting yesterday, with a handful of developments making Nash's decision cloudier than ever. The Raptors agreed to sign Landry Fields to a hard-to-match offer sheet, removing the Knicks' best sign-and-trade chip from the equation. Meanwhile, the Lakers are making a push to land Nash in a sign-and-trade deal of their own, while the Mavericks, having missed out on Deron Williams, figure to turn their attention to Nash now. With all that in mind, we'll track today's Nash updates right here, with the latest developments added to the top of the page throughout the day….

According to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld, the Mavericks have made Nash a massive offer that rivals the Raptors' proposal.

Earlier updates:

Lakers Making Push For Steve Nash

July 3rd, 2012 at 8:58pm CST by Michael Pina

The Lakers are making a late move to try and sign Steve Nash, tweets NBA.com reporter David Aldridge. The Raptors, Knicks, and Mavericks are three other teams in the mix.

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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