dk, you may be right...it's a nice dilemna to have, huh...having a guy that's so gifted and versatile that he can play the 1, 2, or 3. Did you see the article on that Maccabi guy (israeli league mvp?) Might be a consideration for them...

BTW, I hate the mavs...and I'm not a huge fan of phoenix, so it's not homerism...desiknight...i think lebron should stay at point and they should focus on a wing...he's so gifted a passer that I think you'd want him handling the ball as much as possible...dickau would be a great pickup...definitely not a jason williams shoot first, pass later punk....I seriously doubt that new orleans is letting him go anywhere. I think a guy that's seriously underrated as a passer is brevin knight...i mean, he averaged about 10 assists per game with the bobcats, along with 1.5-2 steals. I think Redd is a big possibility (local guy...ohio state...plays for a crappy team)

well, the problem is that everyone wants to point towards nash leaving and the mavericks not getting much worse....look at the other changes the mavs made

Getting rid of Walker - improvement for mavs
losing Jamison - neg
Dirk stepping up and being able to take more shots - plus
losing Nash= huge neg, just watch how much trouble just setting up their offense...
Gaining Terry - plus
Gaining Stack and Harris - plus
Gaining Damp = plus...finally, an interior defender

Look at the improvement in stoudemire's stats...are you telling me that a guy goes up to shooting 56% without nash...or that career 40% guys like johnson/richardson become ridiculous long range gunners? Nash is piss poor defensively, but the way the guy pushes the ball and sets up teammates, you end up wearing out just trying to keep up offensively...plus look at the increased interest in the suns...Those that state that stoudemire's improvement is the main reason overlook that the heat went from having wade as a rookie, playing point guard for the first time (he was a wing in college) to playing in his 2nd year...Same with haslem, who is an underappreciated, but vital guy (a pf that will rebound/defend/not demand the ball). Also, shaq was out for several games this season but miami did okay, especially with mourning stepping up. When nash was gone, the suns doubled their losses (3-4 game losing streak).

What do you guys think about the Rookie of the year Okafor? ... i felt sorry for Lebron James, i think he performed so well but was unlucky..

naff: point is the Mavs didnt crumble without Nash...so his value while important didnt dramtically impact the Mavs.

what are you talking about agent?? www.nba.com and www.nba.com Suns have a 33 game improvement!

Lakers minus Shaq= losing record, 11 games out of the 8th seed. Dallas minus Nash= 4 game improvement (I think from 54 to 58 wins) Nash is a great player, but O'Neal clearly improved Miami (stats aside)--so its a wash...however Shaq's total "value" has to be measured by other standards. And the aforementioned Laker suckiness proves that.

CAPTAIN CANADA DESERVES IT ALL

does that mean Eddie Curry is the NBA Playoffs MVP for the Bulls as it was cleary evident he was needed?

Nash definitely earned it. Phoenix was in the cellar last year without him, and sucked when he didnt play with them this year. He truly is a difference maker, and thats what MVPs are there for.

Congrats and mad props to Steve Nash. I cant believe that some people I know said /Nash was not even in the top 5 PGs last season. He is clearly one of the best PGs and as far as O'Neal winning it - how many games did he miss AGAIN? Iverson is fearless and I hope he wins an MVP and/or championship.

I think it is quite clear that the "most valuable player" is the one who is more valuable to his team. When nash was out, suns sucked. When nash was in, they were great. When Shaq or AI were out, the team still won. I think that is a clear indication than Nash should be the MVP.