Newly acquired Point Guard Steve Nash is still getting used to his new surroundings as a Los Angeles Laker, but
Steve Nash joined Burns and Gambo on KTAR in Phoenix to discuss the end of his tenure with the Suns, his move to L.A. and the Lakers, and his experience as a free agent this summer.
Make the jump to see for yourself.
On at which point in the process he realized he probably wouldn't return to the Suns:
"It started to become apparent in June, and then I guess you could say the writing was on the wall. But I never really gave up on it until free agency actually came and I realized that there wasn't really an offer and that they wanted to go in another direction. So it wasn't till late in the game, and it just all kind of came to light at that point."
On how hard he had to push Suns' owner Robert Sarver to get the move to L.A. to happen :
"I definitely pushed him, and it was a difficult thing for him to do, and I won't forget the gesture. Going to L.A. was not an easy thing. I think I said a week before free agency it would be hard to put on a Lakers jersey, and I meant that. We've gone through some playoff battles and they're a rival and an enemy to some of the Suns fans, but at the end of the day the Suns were moving in a new direction and in some ways I felt like I couldn't cut off my nose to spite my face. Chance to go to Los Angeles, be as close as possible to the kids, primarily. And then other than that, a chance to win, to live in a new place and all the things that come with that as well. I just felt like I'd given my good, hard shift for the Suns and I think Robert appreciated my eight years. And I definitely had to push because it was a hard thing for him to do, but I'll always be very thankful that he was willing to make it happen."
On when the Lakers came into play:
"It was completely out of the blue. Even though you're not allowed to talk to teams, you kind of know what teams are interested and to a certain degree you can kind of guess what's going to happen. But the Lakers weren't an option. I didn't even realize they had a trade exception for Lamar Odom. There wasn't really any talk, there wasn't anything my agent hadn't spoken about as an option, and then they called shortly after midnight on the 1st and the door swung open."
On why he considered returning to Phoenix even though the team is rebuilding:
"You'd definitely be sacrificing that, and that was tough. But I also didn't want to sacrifice my proximity to my children, which was very important to me. And then on top of that I did feel bad about the last two years, and they were going to have flexibility this summer to do some things. So I thought we could really move this thing back in a better direction and I could walk away from the game and the organization that I spent most of my career at in a positive and grateful way where the team was going in the right direction and I felt good about the organization and the team."
On the role Kobe Bryant played in the process:
"Well it definitely needed his blessing. I primarily did this for the kids, and then a great byproduct is that I get to play for a contender. ... It was great that he signed off and he was so enthusiastic about it and positive. You could feel it. He was genuine and excited, and that kind of sealed the deal."
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