Los Angeles - It's only December but the Phoenix Suns are already doing their spring cleaning.

The Suns sent Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and rookie Sean Singletary to the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday, in exchange for shooting guard Jason Richardson, second-year forward Jared Dudley and a 2010 second draft choice.

"We're really thankful for everything Raja and Boris have done for us over the years, as well as, Sean this year, but we just felt like our team needed some change," Suns general manager Steve Kerr said. "We're excited to add a 20-point scorer at the two guard."

Richardson is the key player in the trade for Phoenix. A versatile 6-foot-6 (2.01-metre) guard, he is expected to make a smooth transition to the Suns' uptempo offensive style. The former two-time Slam Dunk Champion, who owns a career scoring average of 18.8, can drive to the basket or knock down the three-pointer.

"He's a guy who is athletic and has an excellent reputation around the league for his professionalism," Kerr said. "Jason can play any style. He was a big scorer at Golden State on the run, he can play in the half-court because he's a great three-point shooter and he can score in post-up situations.

"He's also an excellent defensive player and he's in his prime."

Dudley was Charlotte's first-round pick in the 2007 draft. At 6-foot-7 (2.04 metres), the 23-year-old can play either of the forward positions.

He has has started seven of the Bobcats' games this season was averaging 5.4 points and three rebounds.

"I'm high on Dudley," Kerr said. "He's a versatile, defensive-minded player, who's built to play multiple positions.

"He's a character guy and hard worker and I think he helps our future because he's a young player who has a long career ahead of him."

The Suns had to part with two popular players in Bell and Diaw.

"They understand the business and they understand that our team is going through some changes and it's a transition," Kerr explained. "They're all really good players and excellent people and we're sorry to see them go."

Bell earned Second Team All-Defensive honours last season, while Diaw was a former NBA's Most Improved Player. Singletary, in his first season with the franchise, was acquired in the off-season in a deal with the Houston Rockets.

Bell, who has been the Suns' shooting guard this season, was averaging just 9.6 points, but hitting 46.8 per cent of his 3-point tries.

He was not surprised to learn of the shake-up, even though the Suns own a 13-9 record under first-year head coach Terry Porter.

"The team was underachieving," Bell said. "They needed to make some changes. I guess they think it's their best chance to win and I've got to respect that."

At 6-foot-8 (2.07 metres), Diaw is a traditional power forward, but the Frenchman felt Porter wasn't taking advantage of his versatility like former Suns coach Mike D'Antoni had. As a result, he was averaging lows of 8.3 points and 3.8 rebounds this season.

"It definitely wasn't fun," Diaw said. "We went from a winning team that was the most exciting team in the league to a half-winning team that wasn't exciting at all." (dpa)