well except that they can't defend the pick and roll at all and neither shaq nor amare is good defensively. and you just called robin lopez a great shot blocker.
OK, he isn't great...but he's still better than average. At least he was when Phoenix played the Nets twice. Shaq and Amare aren't good defensively against their own man but their size alone makes them intimidating help defenders to driving guards.
This was definitely a Larry Brown move. Diaw is well overpaid and Bell is only good for the occasional three-pointer and some good (not exceptional) defense. Brown was very close to trading David Lee, Penny Hardaway (15M expiring contract), and a first round pick for Ruben Patterson, Theo Ratliff, and Darius Miles. What a mistake that would have been. Then he told Isiah and Dolan "I need Steve Francis" and a few weeks later said he couldn't work with him. I think this move was great for the Suns. With J-Rich, the Suns are getting a legitimate 20-point scorer and just as good a threat from downtown as Bell was. Maybe he isn't quite the defender, but he's overall an upgrade. I just worry about the Terry Porter system.
