NBA Notebook | Suns get Jason Richardson "to shake things up"

PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns jettisoned two familiar players to Charlotte, and got the Bobcats' leading scorer in exchange.

In the latest move in their ongoing makeover, the Suns traded Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to the Bobcats on Wednesday as part of a deal for Jason Richardson.

In a different trade involving three NBA teams, New Orleans sent veteran guard Mike James to Washington in exchange for Antonio Daniels. The trade returned a future first-round draft pick from the Wizards to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Memphis also dealt second-year guard Javaris Crittenton to Washington and sent a conditional second-round pick to New Orleans, while the Wizards waived guard Dee Brown.

In the Phoenix trade, rookie point guard Sean Singletary also went to Charlotte, while the Suns got small forward Jared Dudley and a 2010 second-round draft pick.

"We felt like we needed to shake things up a little bit," Suns general manager Steve Kerr said in a telephone interview. "We wanted to add a great scorer in the backcourt to give us better balance to take some of the pressure off of Steve [Nash]."

The 6-foot-6 Richardson is a two-time NBA slam-dunk champion and an accomplished three-point shooter who is averaging 18.7 points this season and 18.8 for his pro career.

Bell, a first-team all-defensive team selection in 2006-07 and second team last season, had made it clear he was not happy with the Suns' switch from coach Mike D'Antoni's high-flying style to the more deliberate approach of new coach Terry Porter. He's averaging 9.4 points this season.

Diaw had seen his playing time dwindle behind Amare Stoudemire.

Wade flies in rare air

MIAMI — Even Dwyane Wade was a bit astonished when he learned about the company he's in these days.

Out of the nearly 4,000 players who've suited up in NBA history, only two — Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan — finished a season with the sort of numbers Wade is putting up so far this season for the Miami Heat. Healthy again, Wade is averaging a league-best 29.5 points, along with 7.5 assists and 5 rebounds through 21 games.

Notes

• Cuttino Mobley, who has played 11 seasons in the NBA, is expected to announce his retirement today. Mobley's future has been in question since he was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to New York last month. Tests uncovered signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a source said. That's the heart disorder that killed Hank Gathers in 1990, the Celtics' Reggie Lewis three years later, and Atlanta's Jason Collier in 2005. Mobley, 33, has averaged 16 points a game in a 747-game career.

• Cavaliers guard Daniel Gibson will miss two weeks with an injured toe.