Grant Hill today is like that low-mileage, late-model used car you bought from the little old lady, who parked it in her garage for 10 years and hardly drove, selling it in surprising good condition for as old as it was.
He is a bargain at this age.
"For an old guy, I'm still low mileage,'' Hill told FanHouse last week. "Limited wear and tear.''
Hill, 37, is the fourth-oldest player in the NBA today, but he has given the resurging Phoenix Suns a big boost as they return to their roots as a high-scoring, quick-shooting team on the run. The Suns (6-1) go into tonight's game in Philadelphia tied with the best record in the Western Conference.
The 2009-10 Phoenix Suns are caught somewhere between the past and the future. But just because they don't know where they're going, and have one foot stuck in a place where they've already been, doesn't mean that the team can't win this season, while playing an entertaining style of basketball along the way.
The trade of Shaquille O'Neal was just as intriguing from the Phoenix side as it was the Cleveland end, even though the Cavs got the best player (by far) in the exchange. While clearly a cap-cutting move for the Suns, the return package of Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace provided a flexible cap situation in which Phoenix had the potential to offer a retiring Wallace to a cash-hurt team needing to unload a well-paid player.
That particular avenue was closed Monday, however, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports the Suns bought out Wallace's $14 million contract for $10 million. Coro reports Phoenix went forward with the buy-out in order to maintain a reasonable payroll after signing Channing Frye ($2 million) and Grant Hill ($3 million) last week. But in the process, a long-rumored Wallace-for-Tyson Chandler deal goes kaput.
The Suns sure are taking an interesting approach to "rebuilding." Instead of dismantling the team and starting from scratch, Phoenix is making moves to keep the team's two eldest players in place.
Grant Hill, who turns 37 years old in October, turned down a more lucrative offer from the Knicks and a chance to compete for a title with the Celtics for a two-year deal to stay with the Suns. His agent, Lon Babby, confirmed the news on Friday, revealing that Hill will make $3 million in 2009-10 and that the second year was a player option.
Team owner Robert Sarver made an announcement of his own on Friday, indicating that negotiations with Steve Nash, 35, regarding a two-year extension are "progressing," according to the East Valley Tribune. Assuming a deal is eventually reached, Nash will be 38 years old by the time his contract ends in 2012.
Not many free agents in any sport elect to play in New York because of "family reasons.''
According to a source, it looks like Grant Hill will.
Hill, the 36-year-old small forward, is leaning toward accepting an offer from the Knicks instead of the Boston Celtics or Phoenix Suns on Thursday, and a major reason is his wife Tamia, a national recording artist who would benefit greatly from him playing in New York.
Grant Hill is still undecided as to which team he'll sign his next contract with, but it certainly won't be for a lack of offers. The Suns are interested in having Hill return at the right price, the Celtics are ready to give him the chance to contend for a title, and now the Knicks have reportedly offered a one-year deal to come to New York and reunite with one of his former coaches, Mike D'Antoni.
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
Even in hard economic times, the top players like Carlos Boozer, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Kidd will leave teams and get their financial reward in other places. The squeeze will be on the lower-level free agents who must settle for minimum or various exceptions.
What hurts this class is that only seven teams really have major room under the salary cap to make something happen, and they usually aren't the NBA's biggest spenders. Unless the free agents stay with their current teams, only Memphis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Atlanta, Portland, Toronto and Detroit have major room.
Although there has been plenty of dancing and unofficial talks the last few days, the real dealings can't start until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Here is a breakdown by position of the five most intriguing – and unrestricted – free agents.
Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash presented the 2nd annual "Showdown in Chinatown" charity soccer event on Wednesday in downtown New York City. The game benefited the Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna Foundations, and was an 8-on-8 match filled with NBA and soccer greats. Predictably, NBA stars Chris Bosh and Grant Hill didn't fare as well as the likes of Thierry Henry and Edgar Davids. However, international hoopsters, Nash and Tony Parker, definitely held their own on the pitch. Okay, now I'm just name-dropping. Check out FanHouse's look at what was a fun, if not somewhat awkward, game of soccer. The video is below.
What little chances the Phoenix Suns still had at sneaking into the playoffs came to a quick and violent end on Sunday, when the team gave up 140 points on the way to an ugly loss in Dallas. To a man, the Suns' players and coaches seemed genuinely surprised at the way the game went, but really, given the way that they've performed on the road of late, the outcome was one that should have been expected.
Phoenix faces a do or die situation in Dallas this afternoon (3:30 PM ET, ABC). Here are three things to watch for.
Can Shaq dominate the paint? Erick Dampier is known as one of the league's least consistent pivots, but he's a fine rebounder and defender. Shaquille O'Neal, however, doesn't exactly let himself get dominated. With everything on the line for Phoenix, we expect Shaq to assert his power around the rim, forcing Dallas to foul, double and play from their heels instead of their toes. The Suns need that.
Grant Hill today is like that low-mileage, late-model used car you bought from the little old lady, who parked it in her garage for 10 years and hardly drove, selling it in surprising good condition for as old as it was.
FanHouse 
The trade of 
The Suns sure are taking an interesting approach to "rebuilding." Instead of dismantling the team and starting from scratch, Phoenix is making moves to keep the team's two eldest players in place. 
Not many free agents in any sport elect to play in New York because of "family reasons.''
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
Phoenix Suns point guard 
What little chances the Phoenix Suns still had at sneaking into the playoffs came to a quick and violent end on Sunday, when the team gave up 140 points on the way to an ugly loss in Dallas. To a man, the Suns' players and coaches seemed genuinely surprised at the way the game went, but really, given the way that they've performed on the road of late, the outcome was one that should have been expected.
Phoenix faces a do or die situation in Dallas this afternoon (
