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It has to say a lot about the Suns organization that Nash said it was a good thing for Gentry he was let go ...

"Obviously, I'm sad for Alvin (Gentry), but in some ways maybe this is a good thing for him," Lakers guard Steve Nash said after practice Friday. Nash was coached the last four years by Gentry, reaching the Western Conference Finals together against Los Angeles in 2010. "He's a great coach, a really good coach and any club would be lucky to have him as a coach, that's for sure. He'll land on his feet for sure because he can really do a good job." Was Nash surprised by the firing? "I think the writing's been on the wall," Nash said. "It looks like it to me ... They wouldn't extend his contract. They just gave him the year to kind of play it out. It looked like they wanted to get their own guy in there." Gentry had been working for the Suns as an assistant or head coach since 2004, the same year that Suns owner Robert Sarver bought the team from Jerry Colangelo. Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni, who had Gentry as an assistant on his staff when D'Antoni was the head coach in Phoenix, was saddened by the news. "Very surprised," D'Antoni said. "He’s a good coach. Now, a coach getting fired is not news. You hate it for a friend and you hate it that a guy does a great job and it definitely wasn’t the coaching’s (fault) that they were losing. So, it’s too bad. But that’s our business and you go on. I hate it for him." Gentry became the fourth NBA coach fired this year, joining Mike Brown (Lakers), Avery Johnson (Nets) and Scott Skiles (Bucks) on the unemployment line.