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 3-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.

The versatile Diaw had seen his playing time dwindle behind Amare Stoudemire. The Suns still liked his skills but not his salary. He is getting $9 million this season and has three more years on his contract.

Dudley, a 6-foot-7 second-year pro, started seven games for Charlotte this season.

"We really like Jared Dudley as well," Kerr said, "so our efforts to get younger and to add versatility and energy were important to us."

The 32-year-old Bell came to the Suns as a free agent in 2005 and thrived under D'Antoni's up-tempo system, gaining notoriety when he was suspended for a 2006 playoff game against the Los Angeles Lakers after throwing Kobe Bryant to the floor.

But Bell didn't like the coaching change or the new system. Nash was a tough sell, too, and his adjustment has been made more difficult, the Suns believe, by the lack of a major scoring threat at the other backcourt position.

The deal marks a continuation of Kerr's change in Phoenix's makeup. The big move came in a trade that brought Shaquille O'Neal from Miami late last season.

Richardson will move into Bell's starting spot, with Leandro Barbosa backing him up.

Trading Richardson is the first major move for the Bobcats since Larry Brown took over as coach -- and comes less than two years after managing partner Michael Jordan acquired Richardson in a draft-night deal with Golden State.

"I've watched Jason for a long time," said Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins, who also was with Richardson in Golden State. "Just watching him grow, he grew from where he started to where he is today with his ability to score the basketball.

"You know it's tough, but Jason was very good about it, very professional about him going to Phoenix. We wish him nothing but the best. He was very good for us."

Diaw will help with Charlotte's biggest problem, and Brown's biggest complaint: its thin frontcourt. Diaw could start right away for struggling Sean May at power forward.

"We needed to become bigger," Higgins said.

Bell provides Charlotte with another wing player, while Singletary could serve as the No. 3 point guard behind Raymond Felton and rookie D.J. Augustin. Brown has requested another consistent point guard.

But Richardson's offense will be missed from a team that entered Wednesday last in the league in scoring.

"You have opportunities now for other guys to develop," Higgins said. "Some guys are going to have different opportunities. We'll figure it out as we go on."

Golden State made Richardson the fifth pick overall out of Michigan State in the 2001 draft. He played six seasons for the Warriors, averaging a career-best 23.2 points in 2005-06. He was traded to Charlotte in June, 2007, in a financially motivated move by the Warriors. His contract runs through the 2010-11 seasons.

The 6-8 Diaw averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists in place of the injured Stoudemire in 2005-06. Diaw was rewarded with a five-year, $45 million contract extension in October of 2006.