Alvin Gentry: Suns Not Trading Steve Nash

The Suns‘ rough start to the season has some wondering if Nash should be moved, something the team’s head coach can’t even fathom happening. From the AZ Republic: “Nash envisions playing beyond this contract but how much losing would he be willing to endure in Phoenix at this stage? Nash has been blunt with his frustration that the Suns were a step away from the NBA Finals last season, only to have the team made over  in the summer and the reliance fall on him to make it work. ‘I don’t know,’ Nash said of whether losing would change his perspective on a trade. ‘It was a pretty frustrating year two years ago and I re-signed because I felt like we had unfinished business. Dreaming big would be to go to the Western Conference Finals and have a chance to beat the Lakers. We got back and did that. Now we’re kind of starting at the bottom again but let’s see what we can do. Let’s see how good we can get.’ At that point after Wednesday’s practice, Suns coach Alvin Gentry got his point guard’s back twice. He stepped in to end Nash’s interview and then he made out trade speculators to be ridiculous. ‘Steve’s not going to be traded, that I can tell you,’ Gentry said. ‘If he’s getting traded, I’m going along with him, OK? Have you looked at the way he’s playing? He’s playing at a real high level. Why would we trade him? I don’t understand that. That’s nothing that’s been discussed here. It’s not going to happen. Or at least all those guys out there on the coaching staff are going to make sure that it doesn’t happen and I don’t think Lon (Babby) and Lance (Blanks) are going to let it happen. So who the hell is going to trade him? Not Robert (Sarver), I know that.’ Gentry was a bit worked up about the topic. ‘Steve is here,’ he said. ‘Steve is the face of our franchise and he’s here. Make sure that gets on every telecast and every radio and everything that you guys got out there.'”