Mike James – After Toronto traded Rafer Alston to Houston for James, the point guard responded with 20.4 ppg and 5.9 apg on .470 shooting from the field. Sure, the Raptors stunk, but James proved he could increase his productivity.
David West – Take away Jamaal Magloire and add Chris Paul and what do you get? Well, the Hornets got 17.1 ppg and 7.4 rpg from their 2003 first round pick, up from 6.2/4.3 the year before. With Paul and West, the team has a good young core to build around.
Boris Diaw – People will want to give Steve Nash credit, but Diaw has been terrific for the Suns, averaging 13.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg and 6.2 apg on .525 shooting from the field. Throw in the fact that he’s got four triple-doubles this season – two in the last two games – and it’s clear that the Suns got the better end of the trade they made with Atlanta in the offseason. They stole Diaw and two first round picks from the Hawks, who got Joe Johnson in return.
So there you have it, one player from a bad team, one from a mediocre team and one from a division champ. All due respect to James and West (along with Mehmet Okur and Chris Kaman, who also deserve consideration), I’ve got to go with Diaw, who played four positions for Phoenix and helped the franchise overcome the loss of Amare Stoudemire for the season. Not bad for a guy named Boris.
