"The fluid and meandering stream of Steve Nash speculation rolled through some interesting ports of alleged interest in recent days.

It began with Nash's seemingly polite confirmation that he'd listen if the New York Knicks showed interest when the 38-year-old point guard hustles into free agency next month — a Knicks insider confirmed that the speculated interest in Nash remains legitimate. A couple of days later, the NBA ruled that two key Knicks — including point guard Jeremy Lin — would be granted early Bird rights, making it easier for New York to retain its surprise phenom and still use the mid-level exception ($5 million) to woo Nash.

From there, Nash watchers were obliged to consider a couple of reports strongly suggesting that the two-time Most Valuable Player has winnowed his NBA employment options to three cities: Toronto, Portland and back here in Phoenix.

To believe that, one must toss out recent reports credited to supposed inside bean-spillers that Nash requires his next team to be on the cusp of an NBA championship. Although he never really said this, Nash did help stir such assumptions during a not-so-long-ago radio tour that included admitting his interest in listening to LeBron James if the officially crowned king gave him a call regarding work with the Miami Heat."