NBA Weekly: Jason Richardson Traded To Suns, NBA Rookies, & More

Jason Richardson Traded To Suns: The Phoenix Suns and Charlotte Bobcats pulled off a trade today that came out of nowhere with the Suns sending Boris Diaw, Raja Bell, & Sean Singletary to the Bobcats for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, & a future 2nd round pick. Now the first thing I have to say about this trade is what the hell are the Bobcats doing? They traded away Jason Richardson who is a solid player for Diaw and Bell who have zero upside and a 2nd round pick, who is going to be buried on the bench by Larry Brown. To top it off, they actually gave up a future 2nd round pick, when in fact they should be the team that is getting the draft pick in this trade. You can argue that the Bobcats did a good job to get rid of Jason Richardson's contract, but do you really trust Michael Jordan, Rod Higgins, & Larry Brown to use cap space or the assets he received wisely? I sure don't. This trade is a steal for the Suns and Richardson should benefit from playing with a veteran point guard in Steve Nash. The only benefit I can see for the Bobcats in this trade is that Ray Felton and D.J. Augustin will get more playing time in the Bobcats backcourt. Of course that is also a negative since neither one of them is big enough to guard NBA shooting guards. The funniest part of the trade is that the Bobcats said they traded for Diaw because they needed more size next to Emeka Okafor. The same Diaw who is probably more of an outside threat than a postup player. I'm not even sure what to think of this whole ordeal, but I guess we should have seen this coming though when Larry Brown and Michael Jordan teamed up.

NBA Rookies: A quarter through the season which means it's time to check in on some of the better rookies in the NBA so far.

Derrick Rose: Rose by all means has lived up to the hype of a #1 pick so far this season. As a rookie, he is shooting 49.5% from the field, which is ridiculous for a veteran guard, never mind a first year player. He can't hit the three consistently and he probably can get better on defense, but with his unbelievable quickness and athleticism it looks like Rose is going to be one of the all time greats before all is said and done.

Stats: 18.3 points, 6.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 49.5% FG

O.J. Mayo: The rookie guard for the Grizzlies has been every bit as impressive as Derrick Rose to begin the season. Mayo has proven to be deadly with his jumpshot and has actually been efficient from the floor hitting 47.1% of his shots from the floor. He looks like he is going to be a big time scorer in the NBA for years to come. The only question about Mayo is if he will be one of those players who makes his teammates better as well. Either way Mayo has been impressive enough to earn Ed the Sportsfan's honors for Best Rookie for the 1st quarter of the NBA season.

Stats: 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 47.1% FG, 39.8% 3FG

Michael Beasley: Beasley has accepted a 6th man role for the Heat, who have been playing well lately. Beasley has been decent all season, but with Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion on his team, he hasn't really gotten a chance to completely show what he can do on the court. Right now it's tough to tell just how good Beasley will be, but he has at least shown he can play in the NBA.

Stats: 13.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 44.7% FG

Russell Westbrook: Westbrook has been up and down this season and has struggled from the field, but he has had enough strong showings to convince me that he will be a solid NBA player. He has been especially good on the defensive end of the court averaging 1.77 steals a game.

Stats: 13.1 points, 4.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.77 steals, 36.7% FG

D.J. Augustin: Augustin is going to be the beneficiary of more minutes because of the Jason Richardson trade, well that is if Larry Brown doesn't fall in love with Raja Bell again. Augustin has surprised me, because I didn't think he would be contributing so early in the season. He's proven that he can knock down the NBA three hitting 41.8% of his shots from deep. He also has shown some playmaking ability dishing out 4.1 assists a game.

Stats: 12.8 points, 4.1 assists, 1.9 rebounds, 41.8% FG, 41.8% 3FG

Check out some more rookie scouting reports from ESPN's David Thorpe.

Other NBA News:

- The Washington Wizards were involved in a three way trade with the Grizzlies & Hornets that allowed them to acquire Javaris Crittenton and Mike James for Antonio Daniels and a future first round pick. This is a good move for the Wizards, who are most likely going nowhere this season, so it's worth it to take a chance on the young and talented Crittenton.

- Carmelo Anthony tied an NBA record with 33 points in a quarter last night against the TWolves. 'Melo finished with 45 points in the game.

- Cuttino Mobley will announce his retirement this week after a physical showed that he had a heart condition. Hopefully Mobley will be in good health for years to come.

- Mavs forward Josh Howard is out indefinitely with a sprained left ankle.

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