I knew that the Suns and Bobcats were recently placing their players on the respective trading block, but I am admittedly surprised to see the multi-player deal that went down between the two teams.  With Charlotte getting Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary for shooting guard Jason Richardson, forward Jared Dudley and a draft pick, we have some changing landscapes among the ranks.

Obviously, the biggest benefactor last night was Matt Barnes who went off for 20+ points with five from long range.  But once J-Rich comes to town, I would expect a time-share to continue between Barnes and the veteran Grant Hill.  Still, that is a nice line to have from a roll player on your fantasy roster.

Analysis of main players:

Jason Richardson

A player like Richardson can only benefit from the running style of the Phoenix offense.  He’s excited to be playing for an actual contender, and this does wonders for a players mental state.  A happy J-Rich will be a producing J-Rich thanks to Steve Nash at the point and players like Amare Stoudemire down low.  Expect plenty of scoring from Richardson along with a few highlight reel dunks between now and the end of the season.

Raja Bell

The Bobcats replace a guy that could put up 20 points on any given night with a streaky three-point shooter.  Larry Brown still has the DJ Augustin/Ray Felton backcourt to deal with, so how Bell fits in here remains to be seen.  The thing that Bell has going for him is his defense, which Brown will love.  It should be enough to keep him on the floor, especially in close games.  And we all know that playing time is a good thing regardless of what team you’re on.

Boris Diaw

His versatility will come in handy.  The fact that Sean May is currently ahead of him and is downright awful is an even bigger advantage.  He will never put up huge scoring nights, but Diaw’s multi-category contributions cannot be overlooked.  It wouldn’t be far-fetched to expect 12/5/5 from here out - assuming he can crack the starting lineup. 

The rest will be seen with time.  I think this also boosts the value of Steve Nash.  While he’ll likely miss Bell, Richardson is a more dynamic player and this can only help the offensive side of things for the Suns.