Curry and Nash also share a similar style of attacking defenses. Since Nash came to the Valley in 2004, we’ve heard tales about his unique court vision and the unique way in which he moves about the court, all because of soccer. Watching Nash, there is some truth to this – much of his motion on the court seems to come in big, swooping arcs with few straight lines or direct drives to the basket. This is artfully illustrated by our friends over at 48 Minutes of Hell in diagramming a play from 2010:

The big, sinewy, curving line coming from number 13? Yeah, that's him.

As much as we’d like to believe this way of moving about the court is a once-in-a-lifetime superpower bestowed upon Steve Nash during his days playing soccer in Canda, he’s not unique. According to Coach Macri over at HoopsWorld, Stephen Curry and Nash both fit into a specific archetype of point guards that he labels “S’s & C’s.” Macri says,

“While capable of quick, darting movements into the lane, guys like Nash typically prepare for such a move with broader probing actions, dribbling in curves, almost lulling defenders to sleep before moving into action.  Their heads are constantly swiveling around, locating defenders and their teammates, and using the arc of their movement to draw attention and lure defenders out of place.  They do not pick up their dribble often without having made a decision on where to go with the ball, instead keeping the bounce alive and embarking on a new curve.” (more…)

Too literal! You took it too literally! What did you do to Steve?! WHAT'S IN THE BOX?!?!

Given this kindness, I came to a realization – most NBA fans of teams other than the Suns wouldn’t mind sending their most valued possessions to Phoenix for little to no return! They just want to help Steve in any way possible and get him a championship, right? That’s the way that they always couch their argument to Free Steve Nash, so this must be the logical conclusion!

I decided to take a look at how kind some teams could truly be in their contribution to Operation: Get Nash a Ring. If you’re a Suns fan, I think you’ll appreciate the generosity of our NBA brethren. If you’re a fan of any of these teams, let me be the first to say, “thank you.” You were right – we should have freed Steve Nash ages ago!

1. Vince Carter to OKC for Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook, and Nick Collison

I’m of the mind that ridding the Suns of a zombie will instantly make them a better team. Unfortunately, zombies are highly contagious, so the NBA will not allow Vince Carter to be traded in a combination with any other player. Fortunately, Oklahoma City has a well stocked team full of reasonable contracts that can be combined into equal (financial) value in order to trade for Carter.

This trade would be quite kind of Oklahoma City, as Phoenix would employ two of the best point guards in the league – either in two different units, or in an incredible crunch time lineup with Westbrook running the point and Nash playing off the ball. Serge Ibaka would make the Suns defense even better, and he and Gortat could form a formidable front line. (more…)