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and five assists in a career (along with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade). Grant is also second among active players with 29 career triple-doubles, behind only Jason Kidd.

SG - Raja Bell - 11.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game

Started all 75 games he played in this year. In just two-plus seasons, Bell already ranks in the top five in three-point makes in Suns history (three are active, Nash and Barbosa being the other two). Bell was named to the 2007 NBA All-Defensive First Team, just the fourth player in franchise history to make that squad.

PG - Steve Nash - 16.9 points, 11.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game

Nash started all 81 games in which he played. Nash was the only player in the top 25 in field-goal percentage, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage (Calderon would be the only other had he qualified). Steve is a five-time NBA All-Star who has led the league in assists in three consecutive seasons - becoming only the fifth player in NBA history to lead the NBA in assists in three or more consecutive seasons. Nash led the Suns with 48 double-doubles (7th in the NBA) and is fifteenth in NBA history with 6,788 career assists (third in Suns history with 3,869 assists in a Phoenix uniform). Nash is averaging a double-double for the FOUR STRAIGHT SEASON! His jersey is the fifth-best selling jersey in the NBA (in order: Garnett, Bryant, Iverson, James, Nash) and he is a two-time NBA MVP (2004-2005) who also finished second in 2006.

OUTLOOK

The Shaq trade had mixed results The Suns were 18-11 with Shaq but did finish the season by going 13-3 in their last 16 games against Western Conference opponents. This team was raked over the coals for the Shaq trade, but I personally feel that this was a deal they had to make. The Suns are a winning team, with a history of winning - the Suns have won 50 or more games the last four-straight seasons, and for the 18th time in franchise history, including 14 of the last 19 seasons. By comparison, 15 of the other 29 NBA teams have never tallied a single 50-win campaign. In addition, they are the only team in the NBA that did not lost three consecutive games in 2007-08. The Suns simply cannot beat the Spurs... but the Spurs do have four rings, so beating them is never easy. The Shaq trade did not tear the team apart or strip it of its youth - other than Marion, of course - but the problem is that the Suns have sold or dumped most of their recent picks, and they do have an old lineup. Shaq and Grant Hill are 36, Nash turns 34 and Bell is 32. Thankfully Amare and Barbosa are both turning 26 and entering the prime of their careers. Barbosa should be interesting this upcoming year; he scored more total points off the bench than any player in the NBA.

But look what they have drafted the past few years:

2005 DRAFT - 21ST PICK
Picked Nate Robinson, traded to New York

2006 DRAFT - 21ST PICK
Picked Rajon Rondo, traded to Boston

2007 DRAFT - 24TH, 29TH PICKS
Picked Rudy Fernandez, traded to Portland
Picked Alando Tucker, still on roster

Phoenix has already traded its first-rounders in 2008 and 2010 to Seattle... but they do have the 15th and 49th pick this draft, and who knows what they will do this year?

Learn more about this author, David Snipes.
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