Just saw on ESPN, but it appears that the Suns have acquired JRich and Jared Dudley from Charlotte for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary. I thought the Suns were looking to be a defensive oriented team? JRich makes no sense for that, and neither does trading your best man defender in Bell. I'll get a link when one becomes available, but this was just announced on SportsCenter.
JRich is the best player in the deal, and I think Barnes should be able to do OK being there defender. But Diaw is a hit to there bench, and I'm a big fan. Why the hell did Charlotte do this?
I'm stoked to see J-Rich back out west and on a good team again but I agree it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. J-Rich is gonna be playing, what, 3rd or 4th banana on the Suns? There's a good chance he could end up turning into a Raja Bell-esque 3 pt shooting specialist with the Suns anyway sort of like how his role changed at the end of his tenure in GS. Don't get me wrong, J-Rich is a big upgrade over Bell offensively but JR won't get the touches that he did in Charlotte and he won't be the centerpiece of the offense. Defensively this is a major downgrade. JR expires in 2010 though and they get to dump Diaw. Suns also get Duds who is a good player but, again, a poor defender. Don't really know why the Bobs do this trade. I guess Larry Brown likes Bell from his days in Philly. Still not a great move to take on Diaw's contract even though he could look a lot better at PF out east. They'll surely have another big move before the trade deadline- they still need to dump G. Wallace and Felton. oh and here's a link: http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/10/20081210sunstradeonline.html
I'm really wondering why Charlotte did this. I realize that JRich isn't the typical Larry Brown type player, but this still makes no sense. They do get a big upgrade on the defensive side with Bell, but I don't know how much this helps them. I think Diaw will be a solid fit for them. He has the size to play either the 4 or 5 in the East a lot more effectively than he could out West. Overall though, this is a really weird trade for both teams involved.
Bell and Diaw have been pretty much useless. Diaw for the last 2 seasons. Bell is also an overrated defender. Jrich should never be an center piece of an offense though. He can actually create for himself, which is something they need. I think he'll fit in well. PHX was getting destroyed at the guard spot. I'm glad they did something.
It's pretty much a wash. Also Steve Kerr said he felt he needed to do this, that the team needed a shakeup. If Phoenix runs and guns like its old days, then JRich makes them that much more dangerous, but if they try to play halfcourt, it only gets more awkward. Charlotte wasn't going anywhere with JRich, nor do I think they will in the future. Charlotte got two role players that fit the Larry Brown system. Again it's a wash financially. And the actual play of the players will depend on how they are used.
Bell is the guy that brought passion to the team, especially on the defensive end, so to say he's overrated is BS. The guy was a leader and was their most efficient player. He didn't need the ball much or many shots to be effective because he would drain a few 3's and boost the morale of the others all the way around. I say stick a fork in the Suns or Terry Porter's philosophy. It's like Kerr has a niche for sabotaging coaches philosophies with the Shaq deal under DA and now this move.
The Suns success will be determined only by the play of Shaq. If he's motivated to win again this team is a legit Championship contender. However, if Shaq is going to be inconsistent game to game this team is done. I don't think JRich makes a difference either way for Phoenix because he's not going to get the touches he needs to be an impact player. JRich isn't the spot up shooter Phoenix is lacking and he's not going to have room to drive to the rim with Shaq and Amare in the post. I think Phoenix is going to miss Diaw come playoff time, if they make the playoffs at this point. He was a mismatch the team could exploit with the second unit.
