Trade Idea: Ray for Richardson/Barbosa

[snively]

Ray ($18.8 mil, expiring) + 2010 1st round pick for Jason Richardson and Barbosa ($19.9 mil, both with 1 more year at similar money)

Why for Boston: the team's lack of rebounding and bench scoring/speed pose the greatest threats to the C's title chance other than KG's health concerns.  Jason Richardson is one of the best rebounding 2-guards in the league.  He's also solid defensively, a good deep shooter (.366 for his career), steady with the ball (10 % turnover rate for his career; for reference that's better than Ray Allen and Joe Johnson's career rates) and best of all  5 and a 1/2 years younger than Ray. 

Barbosa (recovering from injury, but a career .545 eFG% shooter) adds speed, ballhandling and scoring to the bench, reducing the C's reliance on inaccurate Sheed and Eddie for buckets off the bench.

Why for the Suns:

They save about $2.3 million post luxury tax, without losing much on the court.  Richardson's only playing 30 minutes a game and Barbosa has been out injured for half the season.  With Goran Dragic and Jared Dudley emerging as real players, Barbosa is expendable (and expensive), while Ray for Richardson is pretty even right now, and Ray's superior transition shooting makes him an even deadlier fit with the Phoenix offense. 

The deal would also put them under the cap for next year by around $10 mil, or $12 mil if they want to throw in one of their draft busts (Clark or Lopez) in return for Shelden Williams (such an addition would save the team an additional $1.8 mil in luxury tax this season.)  That's enough to sign a nice 2nd tier free agent to ride off into the economically viable sunset with Nash and Hill (and maybe Stoudamire).

[connerhenry43]

i think we all run the risk of underrating what ray allen brings to the table. that being said, his #'s are down this year and he is the guy most likely to be moved in an effort to bring someone else back.

i would rather get iguadola (sp?) and dalembert, but this team needs to get younger and quicker. this deal would not upset me.

[nishesh]

Yes in a heartbeat IF and only if our med team says Barbosa will be 100% for the rest of the season. Look J-Rich is great, but the rebounds don't completely make up for the offensive loss. If this  deal does go through imagine how fresh we'll be come playoff time.
Rondo/Barbosa/Allen
J-Rich/Eddie/Barbosa/Quis
PP/Quis/Allen
KG/Davis(Uno-Uno)
Perk/Sheed
Even if someone goes down, no one will have to play more than 35 minutes. Go get em Danny

Edit: like connerhenry said, if we can get better ex (Martin/Nocioni) or (Iggy/Dalmbert) obviously we'd take the better choice, but I'm not sure the 6'ers will trade inter-divison

[wdleehi]

I would have to say yes.  Richardson and Ray are pretty close to even right now.  Barbosa makes the bench better. 

[PosImpos]

This is actually a decent deal that probably has a better chance of happening than the only other good Ray deal I've heard postulated, which is the Ray for Iguodala trade.

At the start of the season the Suns would've said no way but now that they've been struggling just as much as we have and Amare's probably gonna leave in the off-season, they'd probably love to get a big expiring contract.

J-Rich isn't playing as well as he did at the start of the season, but he's still pretty good, and a might more athletic than Ray at this point.  Adding Barbosa to the bench also makes up for whatever talent downgrade there may actually be going from Ray to J-Rich.

As others said, though, there'd have to be pretty strong evidence that Barbosa could be healthy and productive at least by playoffs time.

How many years left on the contracts for J-Rich and Barbosa?

[wdleehi]

Throw in JR for Grant Hill, and the Sun cut another 3 million from this years books.  (6 million when including taxes)

[Bosstown]

If Ray gets bought out i'd say we got Banner 18. lol

[Jon]

I don't know.  Richardson looks good athletically and statistically, but if he was remotely close to being an elite shooting guard, last year's Phoenix team should've been better. 

Plus, there's nothing to say that Ray won't get better.  He looks bad right now, but it doesn't appear to be an age thing. 

[PosImpos]

I don't know.  Richardson looks good athletically and statistically, but if he was remotely close to being an elite shooting guard, last year's Phoenix team should've been better. 

Plus, there's nothing to say that Ray won't get better.  He looks bad right now, but it doesn't appear to be an age thing. 

Are you so sure about that?  When does a shooting slump become what a player is?  Either Ray is in an epic mental shooting slump over the past couple of months (or really the season), or he just doesn't have enough lift to shoot the way he used to.

Admittedly, I definitely didn't expect Ray to age this quickly, given that shooting ability is usually something that lasts even after athleticism fades, but it's hard not to wonder.

[fanofgreen]

No, to this deal.

No because, if people are complaining about Ray, and how he is old and declining, then why would you trade for another guard in Jason Richardson, who is younger, but is declining at the same rate as Ray.

If people are getting frustrated about Ray trying to handle the ball, and him having turnonvers, when he puts the ball on the floor, then you Absolutely do not want Jason Richardson!....He is the single worse ball-handler at the 2 guard position in the entire League.

He can't create his own shot, and he is not nearly the threat Ray is from 3. J-Rich is a stand still 3pt. shooter. He Cannot I repeat; Cannot shoot 3's off of screens like Ray. He's more like a Bruce Bowen type of 3pt shooter.

and Barbosa, is having a surprisingly horrible year. He's been out with injuries, hasn't found his shot at all this year. He just has had a very down year altogether.

Folks, believe me on this one, My brother lives in phoenix and is a season ticket holder for the Suns. I hear it all the time, about how unskilled Jason Richardson is and how Barbosa has dissappeared.

[snively]

No, to this deal.

No because, if people are complaining about Ray, and how he is old and declining, then why would you trade for another guard in Jason Richardson, who is younger, but is declining at the same rate as Ray.

If people are getting frustrated about Ray trying to handle the ball, and him having turnonvers, when he puts the ball on the floor, then you Absolutely do not want Jason Richardson!....He is the single worse ball-handler at the 2 guard position in the entire League.

He can't create his own shot, and he is not nearly the threat Ray is from 3. J-Rich is a stand still 3pt. shooter. He Cannot I repeat; Cannot shoot 3's off of screens like Ray. He's more like a Bruce Bowen type of 3pt shooter.

and Barbosa, is having a surprisingly horrible year. He's been out with injuries, hasn't found his shot at all this year. He just has had a very down year altogether.

Folks, believe me on this one, My brother lives in phoenix and is a season ticket holder for the Suns. I hear it all the time, about how unskilled Jason Richardson is and how Barbosa has dissappeared.

I don't see how J-Rich is declining.  He's still got his springs, he's shooting well from the field, he's rebounding at a high rate, he's blocking shots and getting steals.  He's shooting less, but he's on a team with Nash, Stoudemire, Hill, Barbosa, and Frye: he's not exactly the only shooter/scorer in town.

Nor do I see how he merits the title of single-worst ball-handling 2-guard.  His assist/TO rate is right in line with Ray's and he's a more dangerous 1-on-1 player than Ray at this point.

As for his shooting, he won't be run off screens like Ray Allen, but he's adept at shooting the 3 in transition and he can hit some off the dribble.

He's certainly not perfect, nor is Barbosa, but he might be offer substantial improvement in Boston's areas of weakness, specifically rebounding and perimeter defense, without taking much off the table on offense.  He also has the added benefit of being a freshly minted 29 years old.

[Who]

I'm interested in a Ray Allen for J-Rich swap. I feel more confident depending on Richardson in the playoffs + in future seasons.

I'm especially interested if Grant Hill is included in the deal. Grant would be an excellent 6th/7th man. I don't care too much about Barbosa. If he's included, that's fine. If he's not, that's fine.

[snively]

I'm interested in a Ray Allen for J-Rich swap. I feel more confident depending on Richardson in the playoffs + in future seasons.

I'm especially interested if Grant Hill is included in the deal. Grant would be an excellent 6th/7th man. I don't care too much about Barbosa. If he's included, that's fine. If he's not, that's fine.

I have a hard time figuring out Phoenix's management philosophy and strategic direction.  They have to know they're not contenders; are they just looking to be competitive, fun and profitable? 

[PosImpos]

I'm interested in a Ray Allen for J-Rich swap. I feel more confident depending on Richardson in the playoffs + in future seasons.

I'm especially interested if Grant Hill is included in the deal. Grant would be an excellent 6th/7th man. I don't care too much about Barbosa. If he's included, that's fine. If he's not, that's fine.

Yes, getting J-Rich and Grant Hill would be great.  It's too bad Phoenix doesn't have another backup pg besides Goran Dragic (who I'm sure they won't part with).  It's true I would be reluctant to take on Barbosa considering his recent injury issues and sub-par play.

[KungPoweChicken]

Richardson is already 29 years old. If I'm going to trade Ray, I want to go someone under 27 years old. What's the point of trading for a guy whose game is going to fall off in two years. Besides, it's not like Richardson is a good player right now, anyway. I see him as only a slight upgrade over Allen right now. If the C's trade Ray, they need to get a younger player, someone they can pair with Rondo.