At the end of Nash's segment, Letterman asked Nash -- who has one year left on his contract but is seeking an extension -- where he was headed next. Nash mentioned he now lives in New York, and Letterman quickly pounced on an opportunity to campaign for the downtrodden Knicks and their search for a point guard.

"I'd love to," Nash said. "Can you work it out?"

Tabloid headline writers ... to your keyboards!

Paul Shaffer's band and lots of applause drowned out Nash's next comment, "I'm good in Phoenix," and it hardly matters when you consider that Mike D'Antoni coaches in New York, Nash lives in Manhattan and ... well, you know, it all makes sense.

But the Suns seem more interested in parting with center Shaquille O'Neal -- LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers remain the most likely suitor -- as a way to shimmy under the league's luxury tax threshold -- and seem intent on having Nash retire as a Sun. General manager Steve Kerr was in talks with Nash's agent as the draft beckons, and the team's most popular player appears destined to stay in the desert between TV cameos.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Personally, Shaquille O'Neal moved into the top five in all-time NBA scoring and Steve Nash reached the top 10 in assists. After failing to win more than three games in a row all season, the Suns ripped off six straight wins in March to make things interesting. But the hole they dug was too deep to crawl out of.

TURNING POINT: Two stints did in the Suns: the 1-5 swoon in January that wound up costing Porter his job and a six-game losing streak in early March that pushed the Suns to ninth in an eight-team race. The Suns had avoided losing streaks consistently during the Steve Nash era, but they couldn't sidestep them this time.