Phoenix shakes up roster

PHOENIX - Phoenix traded Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday in a deal that sent Jason Richardson to the Suns.

Rookie point guard Sean Singletary, a former Penn Charter star who has played in 13 games, also went to Charlotte. The Suns also picked up 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. "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 who is averaging 18.7 points this season.

Bell, a former 76er, was a first-team all-defensive team selection in 2006-07. He is averaging 9.4 points this season.

The versatile Diaw had seen his playing time dwindle behind Amare Stoudemire. Diaw is averaging 8.3 points.

Both the Suns and Bobcats were shorthanded in their games last night.