Marbury

	Kidd

Even though the Phoenix Suns and the New Jersey Nets swapped All-Star point guards, they both probably needed to make a change to get better chemistry and output along with different faces and personalities. The blame doesn't fall on either Jason Kidd or Stephon Marbury, but neither franchise was satisfied with their results last season.

Kidd and Marbury are both high-quality players. Nobody puts up numbers like Kidd, a nightly triple-double threat who averaged 17 points and 10 assists a game, leading the league in assists for the third straight year. And Marbury has an amazing arsenal of skills. With his quickness, he can create a scoring play at will, either for himself or a teammate. He can penetrate anywhere, shoot three-pointers and play feisty defense.

The Suns won 51 games and have a good nucleus. Anybody like Marbury who runs the floor can work well with Shawn Marion. Although he is not as good an assist man as Kidd -- nobody is -- Marbury is a better scorer, averaging 24.5 points a game last season.

	Marion

The Suns' three key players are now Marbury, Marion and Iakovos Tsakalidis, who made good progress last season and has a great upside. He has nice hands and quick feet for a 7-foot-2 player and will get stronger and better. A contending team needs three standout players, and Tsakilidis is a cornerstone if he keeps improving.

Like Phoenix, who also sent Clifford Robinson to Detroit in exchange for Jud Buechler and John Wallace, the Nets are not done dealing. There are rumors that Keith Van Horn would be dealt. In the meantime, though, Van Horn might play better with Kidd than he did with Marbury. Kidd thinks pass first and is a player with whom teammates love to play. He will get the ball to Van Horn.

But Kidd has a much bigger chore than he had in Phoenix. The Nets only won 26 games and have some young players. They traded the rights to Eddie Griffin for three other first-round picks, none of whom appear to be standout players.

The Nets need a center. Unless they can figure out how to get one, it will be a challenge for Kidd to lift them into playoff contention.

A coup for the Kings
The Sacramento Kings pulled off a coup in the trade that sent Jason Williams and Nick Anderson to the Grizzlies for Mike Bibby and Brent Price. Bibby is a sound, consistent, accomplished point guard, while Williams was so erratic that no one knew how he would play from game to game. And they also passed on Anderson, who had two years left on his contract and wasn't playing.

Even if the Kings do not have Chris Webber next season, they still have good players like Bibby, Predrag Stojakovic and Hidayet Turkoglu. Vlade Divac is steady and has consistent numbers. If they were to make a sign-and-trade deal for Webber, the Kings will get something good in return. If they keep Webber, the Kings are a contending team. So overall, the Kings will make out well.