Suns & Bobcats Swing Deal

The Suns and Bobcats swung a 5 player trade on Wednesday with the Bobcats Jason Richardson heading to Phoenix, and Raja Bell and Boris Diaw now heading to Charlotte. According to an NBA.com interview with Richardson he was initially surprised at the trade, not having heard about it, but once it hit him, he was pleased to be bringing his skills to Phoenix where Shaq and Nash are playoff bound again:

NBA.com: How satisfying is this deal, especially because you helped build what was going on in Golden State and you had to leave that winning culture to a rebuilding program? To know that you're entering a team that has a lot of recent success, how much does that energize you?

Richardson: That's exactly right. I think my whole career I've been on rebuilding teams. It's been tough because I've only been to the playoffs once and even with that team, we didn't have a winning record. So if you give me the choice to play with guys who have been there before, who have won it, that's a rush. I've never had that in my career, guys of that caliber.

Here's a look at the exact details of the trade:

Phoenix Suns acquire:
G Jason Richardson
F Jared Dudley
2010 2nd-round pick

Charlotte Bobcats acquire:
G Raja Bell
G Sean Singletary
F Boris Diaw

The former slam dunk contest winner Richardson, now will suit up for his third team in his NBA career. Richardson started out in Golden State, then was traded to Charlotte, and now brings his high-flying and potential high-scoring game to Phoenix. Both teams seem to benefit here, although Charlotte gets two solid veterans with defensive skills and playoff experience. Of course, the Bobcats need to make those playoffs first, but in the East it's always possible with teams finishing with .500 records and making the post-season.

All that Jazz, Missing a few Beats

The NBA's Utah Jazz had the unfortunate luck of facing the Charlotte Bobcats Friday night without three of their biggest stars. Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmut Okur were all MIA against CHA. Deron and Kirilenko both were injured, while Okur is tending to his critically ill father in Turkey. The final remaining star, power-forward Carlos Boozer, was promptly benched by the coach for foul trouble. The end result was a 104-96 victory for the upstart Charlotte Bobcats. The team received 23 points from Ray Felton and 22 from Gerald Wallace. Jason Richardson is currently out for knee surgery, but since there's no structural damage he'll only be out a mere week or two.

The Bobcats strung together several impressive runs which were helped by Boozer sitting out. According to game and team stats, Charlotte is the lowest-scoring team in the NBA this year, but against the depleted Jazz they managed to finish with a season-high in total points scored. And despite all the absences on the Utah roster, the Bobcats had to win the game in the final 30 seconds. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan credited the hustle of a young basketball club, but was quick to note Boozer's foul troubles as well as missing their floor general, Deron Williams, didn't help.

Utah looked like one of the top notch teams in the Western Conference as the season opened, as they were one of the few unbeaten. Coach Jerry Sloan achieved an amazing milestone, winning his 1,000th game, and to add to that, he's the longest-tenured coach with one team in the NBA right now. These days it's rare to find that sort of dedication to one brand of basketball, and one paycheck. His team may still be one of the best out west, but once the injury bug and foul trouble strikes, this team lacks its jazzy, energetic nature.

Reasons to Love the NBA!

Last night's NBA schedule featured returning superstars, quite a few sick plays, amazing stats and of course plenty of great NBA action. There's nothin but love from around the NBA...

TJ Ford returned from his second neck injury. He's been away for quite a bit after that nasty fall he took on the layup against the Hawks. Despite coming off the bench and only scoring 4 points, Ford's Raptors beat the Heat. TJ also had a great highlight with a baseline drive and dunk. Raptors win 114-82.

Corey Maggette and Chris Kaman both returned from cases of the flu to help the Clippers bring the Knicks down with the sickness, 103-94.

Allen Iverson had two top 10 shots, both buzzer beater types. The first was nearly half court, running with time expiring. The second was more crucial as it won the game for the Nuggets in OT.

J-Rich had an amazing dunk as he drove underneath the basket jumped up, cocked the ball and the reverse dunked on the rim. Gotta see it to believe it. Despite the play, J-Rich's Cats were outdone by Phoenix.

Josh Smith had an incredible game nearing a triple double with 17 points scoring. What was most incredible was the 9 blocks and 9 rebounds. According to Rick Kamla on Fantasy Hoops nobody really achieves those stats these days, making Smith one of the most unique players around. Smith also had a top highlight play as he did an around the back dribble move to elude defenders then hit a no look pass to his teammate down low for the score. Hawks rallied to beat the Sixers.

The 4 competitors for the NBA All-Star skills challenge were also announced. D-Wade will defend his title from last year against Jason Kidd, Deron Williams and New Orleans' hometown hero, Chris Paul.

Chris Kamla of NBA TV listed his 5 teams who could play spoilers in the Playoffs:

1)Jazz - last year's playoff run, great inside play
2)Lakers - Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, bench & Pasol
3)Nuggets - AI + Melo = win unless Spurs is the opponent
4)Hornets - Chris Paul continues to excel
5)Magic - playoff experience w/dominant Howard

Check out NBA.com if you haven't seen some of the amazing plays from last night's NBA games!

MJ Practices With Bobcats

Let the rumors start up again. The legend was back on the court, away from his role as observer and part owner. Yes, Michael Jordan decided it was time to practice with the team this past Tuesday. Something he did with the Washington Wizards before he decided he needed to come back to the game. Is this deja vu?

Jordan claims he took to the court to show the Bobcats the little things they were doing wrong. The team's lost 10 of its last 12 games and MJ felt he could lend a bit of wisdom. The Bobcats sit at 8-14 and are better than only a handful of Eastern Conference teams. They also seem to lack that "go to guy" that most teams have, despite adding the services of superstar Jason Richardson this past off-season.

According to Canadian Press, "I also told them yesterday that on this team we have no all-stars - none," Jordan said. "That means everybody has to rely upon each other to be successful. Until we develop an all-star that can take over a game, I think it's very important for them to understand that they have to play as a unit. I think that's the message that a lot of the guys got."

Jordan is 44 years old which definitely isn't anywhere near the average age for NBA players. So don't call it a comeback, just call it a practice and teaching session. Jordan should continue to man things from the sideline, but dropping by to share his wisdom isn't going to hurt the team by any means.

Read more about Jordan's return to the court here.