tamburello
12-11-2008, 07:58 AM
These are the reactions on the trade that I could come across throughout the net.
Rod Higgins (Bobcats GM):
We’re excited about the opportunity to add these new pieces to our team. While we’re giving up two key members of our rotation, we feel like Raja, Boris and Sean can help us improve our team.
Obviously, when you give up as good a player as Jason, you've got to get some pieces back. Raja has always been a defender. You know Raja is going to take pride in that end of the court.
And Boris' versatility is a really good thing in this situation. We like his ability to pass, and we think he can score at a higher rate than he has so far.
Larry Brown (Bobcats coach):
We still have too many guys (who are wing shooters).
Talking to Michael (managing partner Michael Jordan) when I took this job, I don't think he thought (the roster) was a perfect situation. I wouldn't be surprised if other things happen down the road. You're trying to get better, and sometimes that means you lose assets.
Gregg (Popovich) said, ‘Larry, you've got to know something – he (Bell) shoots a lot better than when you had him.' But I never get caught up in whether a guy can shoot.
I know this is a little shock for the guys we got … If they started for Phoenix, there's a pretty good shot they'll start for us.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/104/story/407783.html
Raja Bell:
I had a great time in Phoenix. It was a great stop for me. I wish them the best of luck.
I'm not shocked. It happens every year. It's part of the business. You take in stride.
The team was underachieving. They needed to make some changes. I guess they think it's their best chance to win and I've got to respect that.
Boris Diaw:
I'm not surprised because of the way we've been playing. I can understand they would try to change and go a different direction.
It was the perfect place for me a couple years ago and it changed. It didn't fit my game any more.
I could do what I was asked to do but I wasn't used on the court to use all of my skills and my versatility. I was used to be a basic 4. From a coaching standpoint, we weren't fitting into the system.
It definitely was not as fun. I wasn't as exciting for the fans. It's not as fun for everybody. I'll always remember Phoenix with Mike (D'Antoni). We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn't exciting at all.
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/41121
Steve Kerr (Suns GM):
We’re excited to add a 20-point scorer at the two guard.
He’s a guy who is athletic, won a National Championship at Michigan State and has an excellent reputation around the league. Jason can play any style. He was a big scorer at Golden State on the run, he can play in the half-court because he’s a great three-point shooter and he can score in post-up situations.
We feel like we needed to make some changes and we feel like we’ve improved ourselves.
Dudley is a versatile, defensive-minded player. He’s built to play multiple positions and can guard twos, threes and fours. He’s a character guy and hard worker and I think he helps our future because he’s a young player who has a long career ahead of him and can play a number of roles as we go forward.
He’s more defensive-minded and can knock down open shots. He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades type guy and I think our fans will enjoy watching him play.
We’ll be relying more on Lou Amundson and Robin Lopez which we feel good about. We think both players have a lot of potential and need to play. Dudley will have a chance to play and we can go small with Grant Hill, Matt Barnes and Jason Richardson – we have a lot of options and feel good about what we’ve done.
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/trade_081210.html
Jason Richardson:
I found out the deal today. Rod [Higgins], the GM from the Bobcats gave me a call and woke me up from my pregame nap. He was telling me about the deal and at first it was shocking because I hadn't been hearing any trade rumors about Phoenix. I only heard one trade rumor and it was with the Clippers. Despite the shock, I thought it was a good move for both teams.
Every player loves playing with players like that. Been to the Conference Finals, won The Finals, been MVPs, been All-Stars ... I'm just excited about having teammates like that at this point in my career. I feel like now I have a great chance teaming with players who are or are going to be Hall of Famers. I'm just excited to get out there with those guys, playing as hard as I can and going out there and doing what I'm capable of doing taking this team deep in the playoffs.
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.
Oh man. You got two BIG guys back there. There's not too many people that will drive and try to dunk on Shaq. As a perimeter player, that gives you a lot of confidence when you have a big guy back there who is going to hammer somebody real bad if they get past you. At the same time, Shaq is real vocal, so as a perimeter defender you always know where your help is coming from.
Me and Matt (Barnes) had a great relationship in Golden State. Matter of fact, he just texted me to make sure everything was cool. He said, "Welcome to the team," and asked me if I need anything and stuff like that. I have a good relationship with Matt.
I'll go to Charlotte from New Orleans and be in Phoenix on Friday.
http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/12/10/qandarichardson/index.html
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/qa_richardson_081210.html
Terry Porter (Suns coach):
It gives a guy who can . . . go out and score 20 points, who can make some plays for us. It was good opportunity for us to add a piece we didn't have before.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/10/20081210sunstradeonline.html
Jared Dudley:
I’m going to the Phoenix Suns – one of the best teams in the Western Conference! They have star power. For me to come in and try to be one of the pieces, come of the bench and do all the little things.
It’s strange, but I couldn’t have picked a better team to go to. I’m from San Diego, so it's going to be nice going back to the West coast. I’m a "three" or a "four" player, like Boris Diaw. When you add in Jason Richardson and what this team already has, I’m excited.
They can expect someone who is going to be really aggressive defensively, denying the other team the ball. I’ve had to guard Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki. I’ve had to guard the best person on the opposing team. Offensively, I have a high basketball IQ, I look to get everyone involved, set screens, take charges, get steals; all of the little things. That’s what I’m going to try and bring to Phoenix.
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/qa_dudley_081210.html
Steve Nash:
It's tough. While I'll welcome my new teammates with open arms, it's tough when you lose your best friend. It's tough when you lose two of your best buddies. It's tough and it hurts. It's tough.
I know we've got two good players, that's for sure. It is tough when you're thinking about that emotionally.
(Richardson) is a great scorer. I think he'll fit in offensively obviously. Our transition game, he'll fit right in. There's a lot of positives Jason will find coming to our team.
It's hard. I have a hard time committing to this as a business. I take this personally and I take my career home with me. I care about my teammates. When you lose two of your best friends on the team suddenly, it's hard.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/11/20081211nashonline.html
It looks like everyone is delighted to get out of NC, and the others are a little bit bitter to come. Honestly, I expect nothing from Bell, he'll play without heart and earn his money and run away when his contract would expire. And as Diaw himself said, he sucks when coaches behave him as a typical power forward. Didn't we need a typical PF? I don't think we're robbed as many people including John Hollinger does(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=sunscatstradehollinger-081210), but I always hated Larry Brown type trades(bringing veterans, defensive players), and this one clearly qualifies as one of them.
Rod Higgins (Bobcats GM):
We’re excited about the opportunity to add these new pieces to our team. While we’re giving up two key members of our rotation, we feel like Raja, Boris and Sean can help us improve our team.
Obviously, when you give up as good a player as Jason, you've got to get some pieces back. Raja has always been a defender. You know Raja is going to take pride in that end of the court.
And Boris' versatility is a really good thing in this situation. We like his ability to pass, and we think he can score at a higher rate than he has so far.
Larry Brown (Bobcats coach):
We still have too many guys (who are wing shooters).
Talking to Michael (managing partner Michael Jordan) when I took this job, I don't think he thought (the roster) was a perfect situation. I wouldn't be surprised if other things happen down the road. You're trying to get better, and sometimes that means you lose assets.
Gregg (Popovich) said, ‘Larry, you've got to know something – he (Bell) shoots a lot better than when you had him.' But I never get caught up in whether a guy can shoot.
I know this is a little shock for the guys we got … If they started for Phoenix, there's a pretty good shot they'll start for us.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/104/story/407783.html
Raja Bell:
I had a great time in Phoenix. It was a great stop for me. I wish them the best of luck.
I'm not shocked. It happens every year. It's part of the business. You take in stride.
The team was underachieving. They needed to make some changes. I guess they think it's their best chance to win and I've got to respect that.
Boris Diaw:
I'm not surprised because of the way we've been playing. I can understand they would try to change and go a different direction.
It was the perfect place for me a couple years ago and it changed. It didn't fit my game any more.
I could do what I was asked to do but I wasn't used on the court to use all of my skills and my versatility. I was used to be a basic 4. From a coaching standpoint, we weren't fitting into the system.
It definitely was not as fun. I wasn't as exciting for the fans. It's not as fun for everybody. I'll always remember Phoenix with Mike (D'Antoni). We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn't exciting at all.
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PaulCoro/41121
Steve Kerr (Suns GM):
We’re excited to add a 20-point scorer at the two guard.
He’s a guy who is athletic, won a National Championship at Michigan State and has an excellent reputation around the league. Jason can play any style. He was a big scorer at Golden State on the run, he can play in the half-court because he’s a great three-point shooter and he can score in post-up situations.
We feel like we needed to make some changes and we feel like we’ve improved ourselves.
Dudley is a versatile, defensive-minded player. He’s built to play multiple positions and can guard twos, threes and fours. He’s a character guy and hard worker and I think he helps our future because he’s a young player who has a long career ahead of him and can play a number of roles as we go forward.
He’s more defensive-minded and can knock down open shots. He’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades type guy and I think our fans will enjoy watching him play.
We’ll be relying more on Lou Amundson and Robin Lopez which we feel good about. We think both players have a lot of potential and need to play. Dudley will have a chance to play and we can go small with Grant Hill, Matt Barnes and Jason Richardson – we have a lot of options and feel good about what we’ve done.
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/trade_081210.html
Jason Richardson:
I found out the deal today. Rod [Higgins], the GM from the Bobcats gave me a call and woke me up from my pregame nap. He was telling me about the deal and at first it was shocking because I hadn't been hearing any trade rumors about Phoenix. I only heard one trade rumor and it was with the Clippers. Despite the shock, I thought it was a good move for both teams.
Every player loves playing with players like that. Been to the Conference Finals, won The Finals, been MVPs, been All-Stars ... I'm just excited about having teammates like that at this point in my career. I feel like now I have a great chance teaming with players who are or are going to be Hall of Famers. I'm just excited to get out there with those guys, playing as hard as I can and going out there and doing what I'm capable of doing taking this team deep in the playoffs.
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.
Oh man. You got two BIG guys back there. There's not too many people that will drive and try to dunk on Shaq. As a perimeter player, that gives you a lot of confidence when you have a big guy back there who is going to hammer somebody real bad if they get past you. At the same time, Shaq is real vocal, so as a perimeter defender you always know where your help is coming from.
Me and Matt (Barnes) had a great relationship in Golden State. Matter of fact, he just texted me to make sure everything was cool. He said, "Welcome to the team," and asked me if I need anything and stuff like that. I have a good relationship with Matt.
I'll go to Charlotte from New Orleans and be in Phoenix on Friday.
http://www.nba.com/2008/news/features/12/10/qandarichardson/index.html
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/qa_richardson_081210.html
Terry Porter (Suns coach):
It gives a guy who can . . . go out and score 20 points, who can make some plays for us. It was good opportunity for us to add a piece we didn't have before.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/10/20081210sunstradeonline.html
Jared Dudley:
I’m going to the Phoenix Suns – one of the best teams in the Western Conference! They have star power. For me to come in and try to be one of the pieces, come of the bench and do all the little things.
It’s strange, but I couldn’t have picked a better team to go to. I’m from San Diego, so it's going to be nice going back to the West coast. I’m a "three" or a "four" player, like Boris Diaw. When you add in Jason Richardson and what this team already has, I’m excited.
They can expect someone who is going to be really aggressive defensively, denying the other team the ball. I’ve had to guard Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki. I’ve had to guard the best person on the opposing team. Offensively, I have a high basketball IQ, I look to get everyone involved, set screens, take charges, get steals; all of the little things. That’s what I’m going to try and bring to Phoenix.
http://www.nba.com/suns/news/qa_dudley_081210.html
Steve Nash:
It's tough. While I'll welcome my new teammates with open arms, it's tough when you lose your best friend. It's tough when you lose two of your best buddies. It's tough and it hurts. It's tough.
I know we've got two good players, that's for sure. It is tough when you're thinking about that emotionally.
(Richardson) is a great scorer. I think he'll fit in offensively obviously. Our transition game, he'll fit right in. There's a lot of positives Jason will find coming to our team.
It's hard. I have a hard time committing to this as a business. I take this personally and I take my career home with me. I care about my teammates. When you lose two of your best friends on the team suddenly, it's hard.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/12/11/20081211nashonline.html
It looks like everyone is delighted to get out of NC, and the others are a little bit bitter to come. Honestly, I expect nothing from Bell, he'll play without heart and earn his money and run away when his contract would expire. And as Diaw himself said, he sucks when coaches behave him as a typical power forward. Didn't we need a typical PF? I don't think we're robbed as many people including John Hollinger does(http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=sunscatstradehollinger-081210), but I always hated Larry Brown type trades(bringing veterans, defensive players), and this one clearly qualifies as one of them.