J.Richardson on the move, + this guys

[TiPO]

Busy day today in the NBA.

The Suns get Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley from the Bobcats for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary

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The Wizards get Mike James from the Hornets for Antonio Daniels and Javaris Crittenton from the Grizzlies for a "conditional" second round pick from the Grizzlies.

[Khalid80]

Nash upset as Suns trade Bell, Diaw for Richardson

"PHOENIX (AP)—Raja Bell and Boris Diaw have left Phoenix, and Steve Nash says their departure leaves him “emotionally drained.”

The Suns pulled off an unexpected five-player trade Wednesday that sent Diaw and Bell to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for high-scoring guard Jason Richardson.

The trading of Bell especially bothered Nash.

“All I can say is that he’s my best buddy and my best friend,” Nash said after the short-handed Suns lost to the Lakers. “The guys loved him, and Boris, too. It’s hard you know. I have a hard time committing to this as a business. I take this personally.”

Nash already was having a tough time dealing with the changes brought on by the departure of coach Mike D’Antoni and the arrival of Terry Porter and his more deliberate style of play.

“I take my career home with me and I care about my teammates,” Nash said. “When you lose two of your best friends on the team, it’s hard. We’re not only recreating chemistry, we’re changing our style. But we’ve got lots of time to build.”

Nash, a two-time league MVP in D’Antoni’s system, said it’s back to work, though, in this extreme team makeover.

“We’ve got two good players in return,” Nash said, “so we’ll try to build with what we have and try to see how good we can get.”

Rookie point guard Sean Singletary also went to Charlotte, while the Suns got small forward Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round draft pick.

The dynamic Richardson was the center of the deal, though.

“We felt like we needed to shake things up a little bit,” Suns general manager Steve Kerr said. “We wanted to add a great scorer in the backcourt to give us better balance to take some of the pressure off of Steve.”

The 6-foot-6 Richardson is a two-time NBA slam dunk champion and an accomplished 3-point shooter who is averaging 18.7 points this season and 18.8 for his pro career.

“I think it was an opportunity for us to get better,” Porter said, “a guy who can get 20 points a night, adds athleticism for us.”

Charlotte coach Larry Brown said the Suns “just added an unbelievable piece.”

Bell, a first-team all-defensive selection in 2006-07 and second team last season, had made it clear he was not happy with the Suns’ switch from D’Antoni’s high-flying style to Porter’s more deliberate approach. Bell is averaging 9.4 points this season.

The versatile Diaw had seen his playing time dwindle behind Amare Stoudemire. The Suns still liked the Frenchman’s skills but not his salary. He is getting $9 million this season and has three more years on his contract.

“I think it’s going to be a little bit of a shock to those guys when you start a season and you have a legitimate chance to win a championship and all of a sudden go with a team that’s trying to go and find an identity and get better,” Charlotte coach Larry Brown said.

Dudley, a 6-foot-7 second-year pro, started seven games for Charlotte this season.

The 32-year-old Bell came to the Suns as a free agent in 2005 and thrived under D’Antoni’s up-tempo system, gaining notoriety when he was suspended for a 2006 playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers after throwing Kobe Bryant to the floor.

But Bell didn’t like the coaching change or the new system. Nash was a tough sell, too, and his adjustment has been made more difficult, the Suns believe, by the lack of a major scoring threat at the other backcourt position.

“Raja was a great teammate,” Stoudemire said. “Whenever there are changes, you’ve got to accept that. We’re going to build this chemistry again and get it rolling. I don’t think it will take too long.”

The deal marks a continuation of Kerr’s change in Phoenix’s makeup. The big move came in a trade that brought Shaquille O’Neal from Miami late last season.

Trading Richardson is the first major move for the Bobcats since Larry Brown took over as coach—and comes less than two years after managing partner Michael Jordan acquired Richardson in a draft-night deal with Golden State.

“I’ve watched Jason for a long time,” said Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins, who also was with Richardson in Golden State. “Just watching him grow, he grew from where he started to where he is today with his ability to score the basketball.”

Diaw will help Charlotte with Brown’s biggest complaint, a thin frontcourt. Diaw could start right away in place of struggling power forward Sean May.

“We needed to become bigger,” Higgins said.

Bell provides Charlotte with another wing player, while Singletary could serve as the No. 3 point guard behind Raymond Felton and rookie D.J. Augustin. Brown has requested another consistent point guard.

But Richardson’s offense will be missed from a team that entered Wednesday last in the league in scoring.

“You have opportunities now for other guys to develop,” Higgins said. “Some guys are going to have different opportunities. We’ll figure it out as we go on.”

AP Sports Writers John Nadel in Los Angeles; Mike Cranston in Charlotte, N.C.; and Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed to this report."

I always knew that Nash was a good guy but not that emotionally attached to his teammates (I remembered how tough it was for him though when he left Dallas to Phoenix cuz he was best buddies with Nowitzky back then).

[mvblair]

If Steve Kerr (the Phoenix GM) wants Phoenix to be a defense-first team, why would he trade Bell for Richardson? All things being equal, I would much rather have Bell than Richardson. I guess maybe Kerr wanted to send Diaw and his big contract out the door.

Kerr has now almost completely changed Phoenix. I think Steve Nash is the only player still on the team from before Kerr started. Could Nash be traded as well?

[damelo]

Strange move, but...

Why moving Diaw, he could be useful to give the ball inside. I think for him, going to Charlotte is a very bad news.

[Khalid80]

Strange move, but...

Why moving Diaw, he could be useful to give the ball inside. I think for him, going to Charlotte is a very bad news.

Dorris Miaw (that's how i currently see him ) had his chance with Phoenix but he never lived up to the hype. Over the last 2 seasons he has lacked the intensity and his stats were rather quite mediocre (as compared to the 2005/2006 season where he played great and was amazing during the playoffs).

[damelo]

Dorris Miaw (that's how i currently see him ) had his chance with Phoenix but he never lived up to the hype. Over the last 2 seasons he has lacked the intensity and his stats were rather quite mediocre (as compared to the 2005/2006 season where he played great and was amazing during the playoffs).

He needs full confidence by his teammates and staff... That's all.

[The_Big_Cat]

I think the trade of getting Jason Richardson to the Suns is more of a panic button for Steve Kerr to perform and win this year. Amare, Shaq and Nash maybe gone in 2010.

[rikhardur]

I think the trade of getting Jason Richardson to the Suns is more of a panic button for Steve Kerr to perform and win this year. Amare, Shaq and Nash maybe gone in 2010.

Shaq will certainly be, he said it himself.

[nardy]

If Steve Kerr (the Phoenix GM) wants Phoenix to be a defense-first team, why would he trade Bell for Richardson? All things being equal, I would much rather have Bell than Richardson. I guess maybe Kerr wanted to send Diaw and his big contract out the door.

Kerr has now almost completely changed Phoenix. I think Steve Nash is the only player still on the team from before Kerr started. Could Nash be traded as well?

I am sensing a trade netween Phoenix and Dallas wherein a double reunion would happen Steve Nash rejoining the Mavericks and Jason Kidd returning to the Suns. Jason Kidd fits more to what Steve Kerr wants Terry Porter is to implement and would compliment Shaquille O'Neal more. The experiment of Mark Cuban of getting Kidd is not working. On the other hand Steve Nash would be very much happy to be reunited with Dirk Nowitzki. I do not think Cuban and Rick Carlisle would not mind that the Mavericks would be running again with Nash on board. This would benefit both clubs and still have All-star Guards.

[The_Big_Cat]

Kerr maybe feeling the pressure since last season. After all, he looked like a moron after the Shaq trade where the Suns got eliminated in the 1st round.

I think the Richardson trade may work well with Shaq. As we all know it Shaq plays well with a terrific and prolific guard (Kobe in LA and D-Wade in Miami). This is probably what Kerr is looking for with Richardson.

[mvblair]

I am sensing a trade netween Phoenix and Dallas wherein a double reunion would happen Steve Nash rejoining the Mavericks and Jason Kidd returning to the Suns. Jason Kidd fits more to what Steve Kerr wants Terry Porter is to implement and would compliment Shaquille O'Neal more.

That's an interesting angle, Nardy. You're certainly right that Kidd is more of what Kerr seems to want. If Kerr wants to slow the team down, getting Kidd would be good for him.

I think the trade of getting Jason Richardson to the Suns is more of a panic button for Steve Kerr to perform and win this year.

I agree.

[nickhailey]

that was a good trade for both team in my point of view . jason richardson fits the suns type of game and raja bell and boris diaw are both solid defensive players that the bobcats need

[The_Big_Cat]

Jason Richardson tasted his first win as a Phoenix Sun by edging out the Orlando Magic.

[LordOfLeyte]

Jason Richardson should complement PHX's fastbreak alley-oops via Nash lobs to a streaking J-Rich, quite a reminiscent of Nash and Marion plays over the years. I look forward to PHX plays on the NBA highlight reels.

[eliooo93]

this trade was very sucsessfull for both teams