Steve Nash almost escaped from Orlando.
But just when we thought the Phoenix Suns' All-Star point guard would slip away without inspiring the rise of new -- or resurrection of old -- trade chatter, he was escorted out of town with alleged interest from ... drum roll ... the Magic.
According to RealGM.com, Orlando general manager Otis Smith is "aggressively" pursuing the acquisition of Nash. The report sites "multiple sources," which should be enough for the two-time MVP to start packing his bags, right?
While the NBA often is full of surprises, the Suns still sound committed to clawing their way to "elite" status (borrowing a word recently used by VP of basketball ops Lon Babby) by means that exclude detonating the roster. Moving Nash certainly would light the fuse, with his absence all but guaranteeing an extremely high pick in the next draft or three.
The Suns say they intend to move forward with Nash, but Nash says he wants to stay as long as the franchise will have him (unless they attempt to re-sign him on the cheap this summer), and the prevailing process would avoid a long run of on-court misery.
Babby and his associates are leaning on research indicating that, since 1994, teams waving bye-bye to their best player in a rebuilding process require about one decade to become relevant. But roster-building strategies continue changing, making small-sample-size reviews of recent uprisings a lot more illuminating.
For example, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls -- two of three best teams, by record, in the NBA -- are in the midst of serious revivals after scoring big in the draft. They did so by dismissing roster-related opportunities to chase low playoff seeds. On the other hand, they were blessed that Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah were on the board.
But, aside from choosing Durant and Rose, selecting the other players demonstrates skill in evaluation.
Babby and general manager Lance Blanks seem to have started well in drafting Markieff Morris at 13 last June.
But we're just wondering how -- with not much available for Phoenix on the unrestricted free-agent market and Nash keeping the team competitive enough to sit in the 8-13 draft range -- the Suns can find their next elite player(s).
It probably wouldn't happen by making another trade with Orlando.
ABOUT THAT DRAFT
A weekend chat with a personnel executive employed by an Eastern Conference team included his growing discomfort with the potential 2012 draft pool.
"I think it's pretty overrated," he said. "I know the more you see some players, the more holes you seem to find in their games. That happens every year. But even though there are quite a few guys with high ceilings, a lot of them are lacking in things you want to see in top-tier players."
As an example, our executive begins with Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson, a contender for national player-of-the-year honors.
"For the most part, Robinson is considered a real blue-collar type who simply gets things done," the evaluator said after Robinson scored 28 point and grabbed a dozen rebounds in Saturday's come-from-behind triumph over Missouri. "He's gotten better, makes his free throws, looks better facing the basket and has enough bounce to overcome some size issues at the four spot. But if you watch him, he takes too many defensive possessions off.
"Hey, maybe he's attempting to stay out of foul trouble or he has so much of the offense to carry ... but watching him defend the screener on ball screens, you'll see him being lazy in recovering after showing (hedging). It led to at least three easy baskets by Missouri in the first half."
The personnel executive said finding problems in Robinson's game is a bit unnerving for another reason.
"He's considered the standard for how hard work can get you into the league," he said. "And he's taken big steps to get where he is. But there are quite a few guys whose names I see on these mock lists that don't get it. I know we say that every year, too ... but I'm just getting a little disenchanted, I guess you could say, because everyone talks like this draft is so great. I'm just saying let's wait a bit."
OK, fair enough.
Perhaps similar doubts have motivated Blanks and Babby to wait patiently in the late lottery. By the way, have any of the alleged top prospects turned out to be better than advertised?
"(Anthony) Davis," he said, referring to the Kentucky freshman. "The more you watch him play, the more you're impressed with his demeanor and productivity. And Cal (UK coach John Calipari) seems to be encouraging him to shoot that mid-range or deeper shot more often. He's shown he can make that consistently.
"I've heard some of my peers say they'd like to see if he can put the ball on the floor and attack the hoop more. To some degree, that's nice for a 6-11 power forward to have. But do you really want your four man dribbling all the time? I don't. (Kevin) Garnett came into the league as a guy doing all this stuff on the perimeter. But he quickly learned to keep things simple, use the dribble wisely ... and I think he's had a pretty good career, hasn't he?"
FLAVOR OF THE MONTH
That would be New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin, whose wild rise to fame will include a star turn with Ben & Jerry's.
I'm wondering if the Lin frozen yogurt should be kept in the freezer for a year or two before we bother finding out if it's any good.
