Some immediate trade ramifications
Here's the trade if you haven't heard ...
http://www.azcentral.com/sp...
Now, for some ramifications:
* Because it's a three-for-two trade, the Suns are now one man below the roster minimum. This will give the Suns the chance to acquire a veteran point guard as insurance to back up Steve Nash while Goran Dragic develops. An astute observer brought up a feasible name: Damon Stoudamire.
* The Suns have eight, maybe nine, players available for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. I say nine because Alando Tucker, while supposedly a week away in conditioning, could probably suit up and give the Suns some minutes tonight if they needed him. He doesn't help them any up front, though, where only Amare Stoudemire, Robin Lopez and Louis Amundson are available. Get ready for some small ball.
* It is not certain whether Jason Richardson or Jared Dudley would be available to play in Friday's game against Orlando so the Suns could be in the same situation then because Shaquille O'Neal probably was not going to make it back. He did say he would attempt to try but his great-grandmother's funeral is on Friday in North Carolina.
* In summary, the Suns just got a legitimate 20-point scorer who can create his own shot, run with the uptempo style and is still in his 20s. They only take on extra salary in 2010-11 when Raja Bell would have come off the books but Richardson has one less year of contract that Boris Diaw, who many figured would not carry his contract value in a trade any place besides New York. In the Suns' eyes, they traded two of the players who they felt were resisting the new system either in words, actions or energy at various points this season. It's hard to see what Charlotte is banking on, other than trying to bring back the 2005-06 Boris Diaw who starred in place of Amare Stoudemire.
* How about this? Jason Richardson's debut could coincide with MIke D'Antoni's return.