Reactions from around the web to the JRich trade:
Bonnell -- "An executive from another NBA team called my cell phone around nine tonight, to make this quite unsolicited comment on the Bobcats trade: Huh?!?!"
Hollinger -- "So this time, it's Charlotte fans asking the questions. For starters, why did the team include Dudley? The trade worked without him, and he's an inexpensive quality performer because he's still on his rookie contract. A bigger question, however, is this one: How are the Bobcats going to score? They were 26th in the NBA in offensive efficiency, and were 30th before Richardson came back from an early-season injury. To trade him for two role players essentially damns Charlotte to finish at or near the bottom of the league in offense -- it's inconceivable that the team could replace his 21.3 points per 40 minutes with the likes of Bell and Diaw."
(Yeah, look at the Trade Checker.)
Hardwood Paroxysm -- "Will Diaw work out in CHA? No. Way. Larry Brown hates players that don't fit neatly into his cookie cutter -- a scalding hot cast iron cookie cutter that he uses to forcibly and painfully turn positionally deviant players into his generic template that may have been flawed to begin with. But hey, we're not here to pick on Brown! We're hear to speak of the apocalypse in Charlotte! And a friggin' coup of a trade that somehow netted the Suns the best player in the deal while parting with some expendables! Raja Bell was a good defender. But he's already visably slipped. Don't worry though, he'll get better. Totally. So somehow, a slowed lockdown defender and a grab-bag of post moves, playmaking, and headaches are supposed to account for the team's most productive scorer and most active hustle player?"
Bobcats Baseline -- "The team now has 5 legitimate starters instead of 4. A lineup of Okafor/Diaw/Wallace/Bell/Augustin is a lot better just for the fact that you don’t have to trot out Sean May or Jared Dudley at Power Forward for 20-30 minutes a game. Diaw is an incredible frontcourt passer as well and should help a lot with the congestion once the ball goes down low or in the corners. Assuming the team keeps Felton, then you are also adding depth by playing Sean May a more suitable 15 minutes off of the bench and rotating Morrison/Carroll as outside shooters. This move should also allow the ‘Cats to send Ajinca (who had his best game tonight against the Hornets) to the DLeague in order to get some seasoning."
TrueHoop -- "As for the Bobcats ... what are they thinking? I don't know, but I do know that Larry Brown has a history of being enamored with veterans, and he was there when fresh-faced Raja Bell broke into the NBA with Brown's Sixers in 2001. Perhaps they can rekindle some of the old magic. But with a PER that is down around nine -- an average NBA player is at 15 -- I won't be shocked if Bell fizzles in Charlotte, too."
Bonnell -- "An executive from another NBA team called my cell phone around nine tonight, to make this quite unsolicited comment on the Bobcats trade: Huh?!?!"
Hollinger -- "So this time, it's Charlotte fans asking the questions. For starters, why did the team include Dudley? The trade worked without him, and he's an inexpensive quality performer because he's still on his rookie contract. A bigger question, however, is this one: How are the Bobcats going to score? They were 26th in the NBA in offensive efficiency, and were 30th before Richardson came back from an early-season injury. To trade him for two role players essentially damns Charlotte to finish at or near the bottom of the league in offense -- it's inconceivable that the team could replace his 21.3 points per 40 minutes with the likes of Bell and Diaw."
(Yeah, look at the Trade Checker.)
Hardwood Paroxysm -- "Will Diaw work out in CHA? No. Way. Larry Brown hates players that don't fit neatly into his cookie cutter -- a scalding hot cast iron cookie cutter that he uses to forcibly and painfully turn positionally deviant players into his generic template that may have been flawed to begin with. But hey, we're not here to pick on Brown! We're hear to speak of the apocalypse in Charlotte! And a friggin' coup of a trade that somehow netted the Suns the best player in the deal while parting with some expendables! Raja Bell was a good defender. But he's already visably slipped. Don't worry though, he'll get better. Totally. So somehow, a slowed lockdown defender and a grab-bag of post moves, playmaking, and headaches are supposed to account for the team's most productive scorer and most active hustle player?"
Bobcats Baseline -- "The team now has 5 legitimate starters instead of 4. A lineup of Okafor/Diaw/Wallace/Bell/Augustin is a lot better just for the fact that you don’t have to trot out Sean May or Jared Dudley at Power Forward for 20-30 minutes a game. Diaw is an incredible frontcourt passer as well and should help a lot with the congestion once the ball goes down low or in the corners. Assuming the team keeps Felton, then you are also adding depth by playing Sean May a more suitable 15 minutes off of the bench and rotating Morrison/Carroll as outside shooters. This move should also allow the ‘Cats to send Ajinca (who had his best game tonight against the Hornets) to the DLeague in order to get some seasoning."
TrueHoop -- "As for the Bobcats ... what are they thinking? I don't know, but I do know that Larry Brown has a history of being enamored with veterans, and he was there when fresh-faced Raja Bell broke into the NBA with Brown's Sixers in 2001. Perhaps they can rekindle some of the old magic. But with a PER that is down around nine -- an average NBA player is at 15 -- I won't be shocked if Bell fizzles in Charlotte, too."