Nash won't rule out playing for Canada
By BILL HARRIS -- Toronto Sun
SACRAMENTO -- Steve Nash knows it's a distinct possibility, but when it comes to putting it into cold, hard words, he doesn't even want to think about it.
Has Nash played his last game for Canada?
"I can't answer that," said the 29-year-old Nash, whose Dallas Mavericks opened the NBA season with a 109-93 loss to the hometown Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. "It's too early to say.
"It's not getting any easier to play for Canada, the older I get and the more games I've played. But when's the next time I even could play for Canada, two full years from now? So it's too soon to say. I guess it's what you'd call a game-time decision."
Nash has answered the bell for Canada on multiple occasions, most recently this summer at the Olympic qualification tournament in Puerto Rico. The top three teams earned berths to the 2004 Olympics and Canada finished fourth.
Asked if he is over the disappointment, Nash said, "Yeah, I was over it the night it happened, because I felt we overachieved to finish fourth. It still hurt at the time, but I thought we had done pretty well."
Of the handful of Canadians in the NBA, Nash was the only one in Puerto Rico.
"Now, if everybody played next time, it certainly would make it more attractive," Nash admitted. "But regardless of who plays, to this point I've absolutely loved the guys I've played with. Some of the most fun I've ever had in my life has been playing for Canada."
Despite the loss Thursday, Nash remains optimistic about the Mavs' season. He's less enthused, however, about the silvery-beige "third" jerseys the Mavs unveiled in L.A., mainly because of his own pasty complexion.
"If there's an invisible guy out there, it could be me," Nash said.
