"The Sun Rises For J-Rich"

Jason Richardson of the Charlotte Bobcats is headed to the Phoenix Suns. It's official. I guess Michael Jordan realized J-Rich wasn't the franchise player they thought he would develop into. This officially means that Charlotte is in rebuilding mode, and that Phoenix is undeniably in win-now mode. Hopefully Stoudemire is content with another star player coming in and requiring 15-20 shots a night.

The Suns sent Frenchman Boris Diaw, a solid SF/PF on both ends, Raja Bell, a veteran SG that plays great on-ball defense and hits 3's, and also sent rookie PG Sean Singletary as well. In return, they recieve not only two-time slam dunk champion and offensive juggernaut in Jason Richardson, but also get a decent young SF/PF in Jared Dudley. Overall I think both teams have filled some of their specific needs.....but this trade seems to have surfaced out of nowhere.

Now that the shock has subsided let's try to analyze the potential for each team now.

Charlotte Bobcats: Currently struggling at 7-14 they are building for the future. With solid young guards in DJ Augustin and Raymond Felton, they will most likely run with a combo-guard offense, but it'spossible Augustin stays as Sixth Man while Raja Bell starts at SG. They fill a desperate need in their wirey thin front-court, and Boris Diaw likely becomes an instant starting PF for them. He is a good compliment to Emeka Okafor, who is a low post banger, while Diaw can play at the high-post utilizing his shooting and superior passing skills. Diaw will benefit the most from this trade as he was stuck behind Amare Stoudemire in Phoenix. Singletary will be their 3rd option at PG and will likely not get much PT this year. I'm not sure if Charlotte can get any worse than they already are, and maybe adding role players improves this team.

PG: Raymond Felton
SG: Raja Bell
SF: Gerald Wallace
PF: Boris Diaw
C: Emeka Okafor
6th: DJ Augustin
Bench: Adam Morrison, Sean May, Matt Carroll, Nazr Mohammed

Phoenix Suns: After a medicore start to the season(13-9) it seems they are missing that certain "something". They have been very up and down, beating great teams and losing to some weak ones. They have the potential to be a contender, and I think Steve Kerr pulled the trigger on this to try and put them over the top. Richardson becomes their starting SG, and gives them that go-to guy on the perimeter. This team is full of go-to guys like Nash, Stoudemire, and O'neal, but Richardson gives them a different type of go-to player that can shoot, slash, and finish from the perimeter. Dudley is a decent young player(I am not to fond of him), but he can be a productive backup at the SF/PF positions. He can shoot and do many things pretty well, but is not great at any certain thing. In my eyes, even though Phoenix lost their lock-down defender(Bell) that can make opposing SG's like Kobe and Ginobli struggle in the playoffs, they get a far superior offensive player in Richardson that can light a team up for 30 points on any given night. I think this team could start running a bit more on the break, and I think this team could very possibly become the best offensive team in the league.

PG: Steve Nash
SG: Jason Richardson
SF: Grant Hill
PF: Amare Stoudemire
C: Shaquille O'neal
6th: Leandro Barbosa
Bench: Matt Barnes, Goran Dragic, Robin Lopez, Jared Dudley

The future is looking good for both of these teams, and maybe we can see which team got the better end of the deal in the next month or so. Many will question why Jordan and the Bobcats sent their "best" player Richardson to the Suns and failed to get a "star" player in return. I think he's onto something, realizing this is a team game and getting talented role-players might actually make them a better all-around team. Phoenix, on the other hand, could turn into a monster of an offensive machine. They could also turn into a team full of "me" players and struggle to develop any chemistry and fail to find a team identity. While I seem to think that Phoenix becomes better by adding a star guard, I am still questioning it.

Certain elements:
-the loss of a lock-down perimeter defender(Bell)
-adding a "star" player and high-quantity shooter in Richardson when Stoudemire is already complaining that he wants more touches and minutes

These key ingredients to success have me speculating if Phoenix will be as good on the court as they are on paper. Only the future will tell.