Nash's closing words ... for year or as a Sun
Suns guard Steve Nash spoke for 10 minutes following the team’s losing finale Wednesday night at US Airways Center. Here is everything he said:
On the home fans’ fourth-quarter “We want Steve” chant: "It was obviously amazing to get that type of reception and support. It's very special because it's not something I asked for or imagined. To get that type of spontaneous reaction means it's authentic, the relationship I thought we had. It’s great. It really feels special. The fans have been phenomenal and it's meant a lot to me to play in a city like this for as long as I have and to feel important to the fans and the community. I just feel like a very lucky guy."
On his emotions entering Wednesday night's finale: “First, I must admit that I’m not the most sentimental person in the world. It’s something I shy away from more than try to soak it up and get emotional. To be honest, I really didn’t get a chance to think about it. If this were to be my last game, it would be a night I’ll remember. It’ll be an important night for me. I didn’t get a lot of moments to put that in perspective because we were playing for our lives last night and coming back in the middle of the night and getting the kids from school and stuff like that, it’s not like you have a lot of time to sit around and put your career in perspective. I just wanted to play hard and go out on a good note for this season.”
On his next career move: “I’m going to have to obviously sit down and consider my options and maybe predict and evaluate possibilities but I’m in no rush. I think it’s important to take my time and just gain some perspective on what’s happened in my career and what the future may hold. Just a lot of speculation at this point.”
On what he needs to see from Suns management to stay: “For me, I just want our team to be as competitive as possible if I were to return. We’ll see. There are a lot of factors involved and I’ll get a chance to sit down and evaluate them all at some point.”
On the chances of him staying in Phoenix: “Honestly, I have no clue. I couldn’t predict. I don’t know what the future holds at this point. And I’m actually OK with that. I think now’s the time to maybe get some distance from it and try to find a clear perspective on where I am. Until I do that, I couldn’t put a number on it or take a guess on what the chances are on whether I’ll be back or not.”
On his desire to play three more years: “I’d like to play three more years. I’m flexible. I want to see what’s the best situation for me and we’ll see what happens.”
On the importance of winning: “Winning and being competitive and being part of a good environment, those are the top.”
On going through this process in 2004: “In a lot of ways, I feel like I’ve done everything before at this stage of my career. This is still a new moment because every moment is unto itself. We could talk all night and maybe I would never give you a straight answer because I don’t really know. I appreciate the interest and I appreciate that people are excited for whatever comes next and also interested in what my future holds. It’s very flattering.”
On the oddity of having his future up in the air after eight years in Phoenix: “Just the fact that I’m unattached in a way coming out of the NBA season is strange. I’ve been here eight years. It’s flown by. It doesn’t feel like eight years. It’s incredible. The seasons blend into one and sometimes you don’t realize how long of a period it’s been. It is strange.”
On what he thinks the Suns need: “It depends on your method and philosophy but I think the team could use more playmakers. It depends on your strategy. You could go for bigs. You could go for a consistent 20-a-game scorer. Or you could go for a few more playmakers at different positions. There are different philosophies and different ways to go about it. The team and the club need to really analyze what their philos0phy is moving forward and put a contingency plan together to build the best team. It'll be an interesting period."
On the job Coach Alvin Gentry did: “I think Alvin was unbelievable this year. If you think about it, Michael Redd was a late signing and hadn’t played for two years. So other than Michael Redd, I think Grant and I are the only guys who had really been NBA starters before. There were quite a few new guys this year too. For Alvin to put all those pieces together, for all our flaws and faults, he put us together. When we were 12-19, he didn’t let us quit. We were 12-19 and we really didn’t have a lot of answers at that point either. It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, we’re going to get better. We’re going to get better at this, that and the other.” It was like, ‘I’m not sure we’re going to get better at any of this stuff but he wouldn’t let us relent. He was phenomenal. I love playing for Alvin. I think he’s a great coach.”
On how he will remember this season: “This is a rewarding year. This is a positive season. Obviously, I’m used to playing in the playoffs. That’s important to me. We took it about as far as we could this year. It’s inevitable with the change and from some of our flaws, that we weren’t going to have a good start. We needed time. We struggled. The most important thing is the coaches stuck with us and never let us give up and found a way to make the pieces work to be greater than the sum of the parts and here we are with a chance to get in the playoffs and here we are with a chance to get in the playoffs and here we are ending .500, which is pretty fitting. We hung in there. There is reward to be had. It’s not the championship. It’s not the playoffs so we’re disappointed in that. But at the same time, when you look at it, we were greater than the sum of our parts. We had a lot of guys who sacrificed and fought and made this a pretty good year.”
On his health: “I actually feel pretty good. There’s no question it takes its toll. The NBA season is notoriously rigorous as it is but this year was crazy. From Saturday was 13 games in 19 nights. The fact that we’re going out there and playing at a pretty good clip, a clip that was just about to make the playoffs, is very acceptable. So, personally, I feel encouraged. Maybe with an elongated season and a little bit more rest, I could even play at a higher level.”
On how he would want to be remembered as a Sun: “I always hope people think of me as a competitor and a great teammate and a winner. If I’m fortunate enough for people to think of me that way as a Sun, then I’m very flattered.”
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/160708
I think he's gone, what says you?
