Steve Nash still wants to get paid. (Getty Images)

There's an assumption that when you get older in the NBA, all you want to do is play for a championship. That you'd sell your soul, that you'd hitch yourself to any bandwagon and possibly ride into the sunset with a ring.

Well, mostly, that is the case. Unless you're Steve Nash.

At 38, Nash is an unrestricted free agent and said he doesn't feel he needs a ring to validate his career. He's more interested in finding the right fit for him and isn't afraid to say money still matters. Via Sports Radio Interviews:

"I definitely feel like I want to be validated monetarily to an extent. Maybe not to the same extent, but it’s still very important I think. Like I said in our business I think money in many ways represents respect because for example, if you sign with a team and you take half or less money, and then like I said earlier six months later they trade you. I mean it’s one of those things where you can’t in our business forgo money all the time. It has to be one of the factors, so it’s not everything, but it is important and it’ll be one of the factors involved."

There's a certain thinking that Nash would be willing to take a veteran minimum deal to grab on to a spot with the Heat or Thunder, but clearly, he's interested in getting paid what he's still worth.

Or the Knicks, which has been speculated for some time. The Knicks can't pay much to Nash, especially since they aren't as close to some others to contending. He recently said he's considering the Knicks, but is clearly trying to keep all options open.

One team you can likely rule out though? The Lakers.

"The truth is I am bit old school. I think for me it would be hard to put on a Lakers jersey. That’s just what it is. You play against them so many times in the playoffs and I just use them as an example with the uttermost respect for them and their organization. I think it was Larry Bird that was like he wouldn’t play for them type thing. I kind of have that tendency. It is strange, but as a free agent you are free to go wherever you want and I’d have to consider everything regardless of the past or future.

You have to evaluate that moment, but it is…do you go there and everyone is like you went there and won a championship? Who cares? They won it the year before without you. Or is it better to go somewhere else and knock them off? These are all things that I think are fun to talk about, but at the end of the day I gotta make a decision that works best for me and my family and not really worry and put too many things into my decision.”

Personally, I think it's pretty cool to hear Nash's inner thoughts about this decision. He's a loyal guy, but obviously wants to make a choice that's best for him. Is that the most money? The best chance to win? The best market? The place he'll have the most fun?

We'll just wait and see.