Suns make a trade to give them options
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Phoenix's acquisition of Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley gives them a proven scorer and someone to add toughness in the middle.
Almost a year after what many called a heist of monumental proportions, when the Lakers amazingly were able to put the underachieving Kwame Brown in a five-player deal that helped them land Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies, it's still a source of consternation.
Phoenix Coach Terry Porter was asked if his team made its trade Wednesday based on what the Lakers did last February, if the Suns were trying to catch up to the Lakers.
The Suns acquired Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley and a second-round draft from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary.
Gasol helped the Lakers reach the NBA Finals last season. Brown rarely played with Memphis and now is with the Detroit Pistons.
"You consider that like a trade? That was like a giveaway," Porter said. "A trade? Wow! You got to get equal value for value or something, don't you?"
Porter couldn't contain his laughter.
His team made a move it feels will improve the Suns.
"I wouldn't say it was a reaction to that deal," Porter said. "Teams are out there trying to figure out ways to improve their team. I think everybody would sign up for that type of opportunity to get a piece like [Gasol] and not have to give anything up, to get 20 and 10 and not give anything up."
Richardson, a 6-6 guard, is the jewel of the trade. He was averaging 18.7 points with the Bobcats. His career average is 18.8 points.
"First, Raja and Boris have done some great things for this organization," Porter said. "But for us, this gives us an opportunity to try to improve the team. You add a guy who's capable of scoring 20 points. He's a proven scorer in that [shooting guard] spot. We had a [power forward in Dudley] who adds some toughness and can hit the mid-range jump shot. So, it adds two pieces that kind of fit for us."
Richardson spent six seasons with the Golden State Warriors, averaging a career-high 23.2 points in 2005-06. He had a measure of success against the Lakers and Kobe Bryant when Richardson played for the Warriors.
"We never considered him a great shooter. He's a scorer," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "He's got three capabilities. His threes can be really hot. He has tremendous athletic ability and he's reached his maturity. He's 27 years of age and the next three, four years are going to be his best years."
The Lakers beat the Suns for the second time this season Wednesday night.
The Suns are in transition, going from a run-and-gun team when Mike D'Antoni was the coach to a more traditional offensive team that plays better defense under Porter.
"I think that they saw that with this personnel, things weren't flowing really well," Jackson said. "Maybe the combination of having a new coach and hold-over players might have been something that went into that. But that's saying an awful lot in just short words."
In the end, Porter is happy with the move the Suns made.
"I just think it's an opportunity for us to get better," Porter said.
Turner is a Times staff writer
broderick.turner@latimes.com
