Suns Trade for Jason Richardson, Send Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to Charlotte

We have our second deal of the NBA day, and it's way more interesting than the first one. It's being reported that the Suns are sending Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and Sean Singletary to Charlotte, in exchange for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, and a second round draft choice in the magical year of 2010.

Steve Kerr explained some of what he likes about J-Rich:

"He's athletic and gives us a really potent offensive player," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "He's also an excellent defensive player and he's in his prime. He's a very high-character guy and well-regarded around the league for his professionalism."

Bell and Diaw both played big minutes in Terry Porter's rotation, but that shouldn't be an issue for Richardson, as he's been averaging over 35 minutes per game this season. Bell has been known as a solid perimeter defender and three-point shooter, but Richardson shoots a similar percentage from downtown, and defends well enough that there shouldn't be too big of a drop-off on that end of the floor.

Diaw has played well recently, and has been the one that subs in for Shaquille O'Neal, at least in the first quarter. Between Robin Lopez, Lou Amundson and the newly acquired Dudley, Porter will likely struggle to find someone capable of spelling Shaq.

I recently wondered if Kerr would be patient enough to see if this team would develop into a contender as they were currently constructed, and now we have the answer. The team looked good in their last two outings, which were wins over the Bucks and the Jazz. But trade talks like these probably began during the team's four-game losing streak sometime over the past week or two, and it likely took until today to get the details finalized.