Now that Deron Williams is officially off the table after re-signing with the Brooklyn Nets, the next best free agent on the open market is two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.

Despite being 38-years-old, Nash is getting a lot of interest around the league with Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks all out to sign the future Hall of Famer.

After offering a three-year deal of $36 million to Nash, the Raptors were considered Nash’s best option in free agency with the biggest payout. Even though it is uncertain if any other team can top the Raptors’ offer, the Knicks are quickly emerging as the frontrunners to land the superstar point guard.

The fact that the Knicks are now the favorites to land Nash via sign-and-trade, the consensus is that Jeremy Lin may no longer be an option in the Big Apple. This is an interesting development with the Knicks supposedly not wanting to let Lin go.

Obviously, nothing is set in stone at this point with anything being possible in free agency, but the Knicks are definitely trying to bring in the veteran floor general in order to sort out this team filled with talent that seems to be going in the wrong direction.

If the Knicks ultimately bow out of running to land Nash, the Lakers are rumored to be another team strongly pushing the Phoenix Suns to make a sign-and-trade. With Los Angeles having no wiggle room in the financial department, sign-and-trade deals are the only way to pay big-name players before next season.

It’ll be interesting to see if a deal gets done in which the Lakers send Ramon Sessions to the Suns in exchange for Nash. A backcourt of Kobe Bryant and Nash would be a scary sight for opposing team.

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