Updated 4h 52m ago
By J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY
Keeping Steve Nash just got much tougher for the Phoenix Suns if president of basketball operations Lon Babby is to be taken at his word.
By Matt York, AP
In an interview with Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic, Babby said he'll be "prudent" with use of $23 million in cap space to sign free agents in July.
Even though Nash loves Phoenix, he told USA TODAY Sports last monththat he wanted to play for a championship contender or he'd reluctantly move on.
The Suns (33-33) missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season after advancing to the Western Conference finals in 2010.
"There's a distinct possibility that we don't use our cap room this summer," Babby told The Republic. "We've worked hard to put ourselves in this position to have this kind of flexibility, to have a range of opportunities, but I'm absolutely determined that we are going to be disciplined in how we approach this because we cannot get ourselves right back in the same spot we were in by doing bad contracts, not assessing value properly, not making the right choices in terms of personnel."
Babby said the team will "quite likely" match offer sheets on restricted free agent Robin Lopez, a 7-foot center who ended the season on a high note.
Babby said that the team needs better rebounding, a dominant wing or post scorer, youth and defense.
Coach Alvin Gentry has one year left on his deal and wasn't offered an extension. Babby wants to see how 2012-13 plays out. But first, it's about Nash.
"Everybody here wants Steve Nash to retire as a Phoenix Sun, and we're going to work very hard with him to make that happen," Babby said.
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