'No brainer.' How Steve Nash will impact Phoenix Suns as senior adviser

Steve Nash said a two-letter word while watching a Suns’ open-gym run this summer as he spoke with general manager Brian Gregory.

It still takes Gregory’s breath away.

“He lives right around the corner from me, he’s been in the gym quite a bit,” Gregory said about Nash at the team’s media day Sept. 24 at PHX Arena. “When Steve and I talked with (Suns team owner Mat Ishbia) and we got this thing done, about two days later, we were on the phone talking and he was at one of our open runs and one of our workouts just talking about basketball and he said, ‘we’ and I was like, ‘damn.’”

One of the greatest Suns ever is back as a senior adviser.

“Pretty special because it’s back to ‘we,’” Gregory said. “Back to where it belongs and he’s going to make a huge impact for us, not only for me and the rest of our front office, but with (Suns head coach Jordan Ott) and his staff. We want to bring in highly intelligent, high-character guys, no ego where the Phoenix Suns mean something and that’s Steve Nash.”

The two-time NBA MVP and Naismith Hall of Famer was inside the Suns team practice facility on Thursday, Sept. 25, for Day 1 of training camp wearing shorts, a T-shirt and looking as if he can still play.

“Steve Nash being in the area and being a Phoenix Sun was a no brainer,” Ott said after practice.

Ott was an assistant under Nash during his two full seasons as the Brooklyn Nets’ head coach (2020-22). Nash was let go after a 2-5 start in 2022-23.

“It was just what opportunity he wanted and how we could help him feel the best to help this group,” Ott added.

Nash stood on the court after practice talking with another former Suns player, Cedric Ceballos, near where Devin Booker sank free throws at a basket on the far end.

“I love it,” said Suns forward Dillon Brooks about his fellow Canadian. “He’s got so much information to give at all levels and all positions. He’s going to be a great tool for us to use.”

Added Gregory: “His intelligence level is off the charts and incomparable feel for the game and knowledge of the game. … Everything we talk about that we want our players to embody and our identity, that’s Steve Nash. You don’t have to look any further than that.”

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Nash won back-to-back NBA MVPs (2005, 2006) with the Suns in orchestrating Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven Seconds or Less” offense. He played 10 of his 18 NBA seasons in Phoenix and is a Ring of Honor inductee.

Amazon Prime hired Nash as an NBA analyst for the 2025-26 season, but he will be able to work for the Suns.

“The Phoenix Suns mean something to him,” Gregory said. “So him working for us means a little more and I like that.”

The Suns initially shifted James Jones from general manager to senior adviser in May when elevating Gregory from director of player programming to general manager.

In a news release, the Suns spelled out Jones’ duties as senior adviser.

“Jones will remain involved with front office decisions, including advising and working closely with Gregory on team and personnel decisions,” the news release stated.

Two months later, the NBA named Jones its executive vice president, head of basketball operations.

The Suns have put Nash in that senior adviser role.

“The insights that he’s going to be able to give our coaching staff, our players and myself are going to be tremendous and I think will be very, very impactful,” Gregory said. “There’s an expertise, there’s an ability to analyze. There’s an ability to independently evaluate different things from players to knowledge of the league, players around the league. For me, it’s exciting.”