Former Warrior fan-favorite Jason Richardson is now a member of the Phoenix Suns. The Suns acquired Richardson, along with Jared Dudley and a future second-round pick, from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary.
THIS SIDE: The Suns get the best player in the deal and they also clear salary. Richardson is a natural fit for the Suns. He gives them the athletic wing who can shoot the 3 they’ve been lacking since Joe Johnson left. Bell is nice complimentary player with a reasonable salary through next year, and the Suns will miss his defensive presence on the perimeter, but losing him is a small price to pay for also ridding themselves of Boris Diaw and his $36 million through the 2011/’12 season. Diaw has done next to nothing since the moment he signed the deal and he seems incapable of playing well with Amare Stoudamire and the Suns will not miss him. As a further bonus, the Suns receive a draft pick and Dudley, who has shown flashes of being a nice rotation player since coming into the league a season-and-a-half ago.
THAT SIDE: From the Bobcats’ perspective, the success of this deal depends largely on Larry Brown’s ability to get the most out of Diaw. Bell brings the defensive intensity that Brown requires and his contract might allow the Bobcats to more easily pursue a free agent after next season, but it is Diaw who is the key to this deal. If Brown can get Diaw to play like he did before he signed his contract (and when Stoudamire was hurt) the Bobcats will have acquired a skilled forward who can play both ends of the 3 and the 4. If he can’t, they will have added Diaw to an already unproductive and expensive bench that includes Nazr Mohammed, Matt Carroll and Adam Morrison. Either way, a starting lineup that includes Raymond Felton, Bell, Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor is going to struggle to score points. This is a classic Larry Brown-as-exec-trade and it’s up to Larry Brown the coach to make it work.
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