Suns deal Richardson for Thomas

[baggio248]

This should give him some help...we'll have to wait and see.

The Arizona Republic is reporting that the Suns have acquired power forward Kurt Thomas from the New York Knicks for swingman Quentin Richardson.
According to the newspaper, the Suns also will receive a conditional first-round pick in the deal.

Thomas, 32, averaged 11.5 points and 10.4 rebounds for the Knicks last season and was the team’s best interior defender, covering both power forwards and centers.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8334146/

[bachviet]

Looks like the Suns beef up its D to compete against the Spurs in the West.

[MikeD]

Looks like the Suns beef up its D to compete against the Spurs in the West.

And the Knicks get YET ANOTHER 2 guard...

[gear02]

I don't think it's final yet. ESPN still has it saying they're still talking.

[ialsohaveadream]

Ridiculous trade if the Suns do it. A past-his-prime power forward for a young shooting guard that fits the Suns up-tempo style? Why?

[shaggyucla]

throw thomas at center, amare pf, marion sf, johnson sg, nash pg....

much better lineup than making amare play PF....

I think the trade will make them better, and be able to play against the spurs (guard dunkin) Only reason the Q played as well as he did was because of nash, you saw how he disappeared in the playoffs...

just two cents from a laker fan (i know, i know, laker currency may not be too high right now, but......)

[Showtime]

And the Knicks get YET ANOTHER 2 guard...

Rumor has it that the new collective bargaining agreement will allow the Knicks to dump Houston. They want/need to do that badly.

-j

[zenbooty]

And the Knicks get YET ANOTHER 2 guard...

Gotta love it! Isaiah continues his stretch of perfection running institutions into the ground ! Just what the Knicks need, get rid of their only decent big man down low, for yet ANOTHER shooting guard, to complement the, what, like 4 other shooting guards they have now?

[MikeD]

Gotta love it! Isaiah continues his stretch of perfection running institutions into the ground ! Just what the Knicks need, get rid of their only decent big man down low, for yet ANOTHER shooting guard, to complement the, what, like 4 other shooting guards they have now?

Here it is...

New York Knicks Roster
NO. PLAYER POS. HT. WT. BORN COLLEGE
21 Trevor Ariza SF 6-8 200 Jun. 30, 1985 UCLA
45 Jackie Butler FC 6-10 250 Mar. 10, 1985
11 Jamal Crawford SG 6-5 190 Mar. 20, 1980 Michigan
1 Anfernee Hardaway GF 6-7 215 Jul. 18, 1971 Memphis
20 Allan Houston SG 6-6 205 Apr. 20, 1971 Tennessee
8 Jermaine Jackson SG 6-5 204 Jun. 7, 1976 Detroit
3 Stephon Marbury PG 6-2 200 Feb. 20, 1977 Georgia Tech
13 Malik Rose F 6-7 245 Nov. 23, 1974 Drexel
14 Bruno Sundov C 7-2 260 Feb. 10, 1980
50 Mike Sweetney PF 6-8 270 Oct. 25, 1982 Georgetown
2 Maurice Taylor PF 6-9 255 Oct. 30, 1976 Michigan
40 Kurt Thomas PF 6-9 235 Oct. 4, 1972 TCU
5 Tim Thomas F 6-10 240 Feb. 26, 1977 Villanova
31 Jerome Williams PF 6-9 206 May 10, 1973 Georgetown

Crawford, Hardaway, Houston, Jackson, Marbury. You know at least 3 of those guys want to start, and adding Q makes 4.

Isiah is an idiot...

[ray]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks made a few draft day trades with the aforementioned players.

[ialsohaveadream]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks made a few draft day trades with the aforementioned players.

Good luck on that. The Knicks overpay so much that nobody wants to take on the contracts they've got unless they're expiring. Houston's deal was ridiculous at the time he signed it, and it's even more so now that he's in the declining stages of his career.

Penny's been washed up for a while now (too bad, too...I always liked Penny). Crawford's a ball hog with a bad shot, Jackson wouldn't start for most teams in the league, and Marbury hasn't blossomed in NY like everyone hoped he would. And by "everyone", I mean Knicks fans...which doesn't include me.

[cheapchinese]

i always thought Knicks ideology would like to have a big man down low... now it seems like a shooting guard team...

Bad move for the knicks if they made the trade

[molecularfire]

Ridiculous trade if the Suns do it. A past-his-prime power forward for a young shooting guard that fits the Suns up-tempo style? Why?

Because while run and gun offense may be fun to watch and will win you a lot of games in the regular season without good defense you've got no shot in the playoffs against the premier teams. Pheonix is a good team with or without Richardson but with somebody helping Amare control the paint they now have a chance of competing with the likes of SA, Detroit and Miami in the playoffs next year.

[dbax791]

Pheonix is a good team with or without Richardson but with somebody helping Amare control the paint they now have a chance of competing with the likes of SA, Detroit and Miami in the playoffs next year.

Good point. Trade is not finalized but I'd be happy with it.

Q did great in the regular season but disappeared in the playoffs. Marion was shut down by playing the 4 against a good San Antionio team, but I really don't think the Suns are that far away. If they had Joe Johnson healthy, they might have given SA some competition.

Oh well, a turnaround from 29 to 62 wins and a conference finals does not give me much reason to complain.

[ialsohaveadream]

Because while run and gun offense may be fun to watch and will win you a lot of games in the regular season without good defense you've got no shot in the playoffs against the premier teams. Pheonix is a good team with or without Richardson but with somebody helping Amare control the paint they now have a chance of competing with the likes of SA, Detroit and Miami in the playoffs next year.

I'm not disputing that a real low-post player helps them. What I'm wondering is why they'd give up Q for such Thomas, who is past his prime and undersized to play PF in the West. I'm sure if they shopped around a bit more, they could find something better in return...although getting a first-rounder from the Knicks is a gold mine, since a guard-heavy team with no frontcourt muscle in the East is probably gonna be lottery fodder for a few years to come.

[MikeD]

although getting a first-rounder from the Knicks is a gold mine, since a guard-heavy team with no frontcourt muscle in the East is probably gonna be lottery fodder for a few years to come.

Hold the fort, looks like the Knicks get the first rounder. Yikes!

The New York Knicks have agreed to trade Kurt Thomas to the Phoenix Suns for Quentin Richardson, but the deal is on hold over the weekend.

The Knicks are awaiting insurance papers on Richardson, the New York Times reported. Richardson injured his back while playing for the Los Angeles Clippers, which reportedly was one reason they let him leave as a free agent.

Without the paperwork, the deal is unlikely to happen, the Times reported. If the trade is completed, the Knicks would also get a conditional first-round pick.

Thomas averaged 10.4 rebounds and 11.5 points in 37.5 minutes over 80 games.

Richardson averaged 14.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 35.9 minutes over 78 games.

[Jihforce]

in defense of Isiah, I can see a few pluses.
Thomas was getting old, so you gotta trade him while he's got some value. He's also getting a 1st rounder (late) which is better than nothing.
NY has a lot of PF, somewhat undersized, but he need to clear up some room to develop guys like Sweetney, which showed some promise last year.
Q can play the 2 and 3 spot, which is good, and it seem likely that NY will waive Houston because of a loophole in the CBA. And we all know Tim Thomas ain't working out. So it made some sense. is NY still undersized? yeah, but if he can run the team like th Suns did (with an undersized team), he might be able to find some success in the East next year, assuming he can get a coach that can put these parts together.

[Showtime]

Rumor has it that the new collective bargaining agreement will allow the Knicks to dump Houston. They want/need to do that badly.

Still a lot of talk about the trade and Houstons bloated contract? See above.

Q will start where houston used to start. They may be as loaded at that position as the Lakers are at 2/3, but now they will have a legit starter.

-j