The newest member of the Phoenix Suns was arrested on DUI charges just one week after moving to the Valley, according to a traffic citation issued by an officer with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community.
Jason Richardson was arrested in the early morning hours of December 21st as he was driving a 2008 Mercedes along the Loop 101 freeway near Thomas.
According to the citation, the 27-year-old was going 65 mph in a 55 mph zone.
The officer cited Richardson with DUI above .08 and failure to drive in one lane.
He was scheduled to appear in court on the charges later this month, but his attorney asked for the date to be changed. His attorney was unavailable for comment.
Last month, the Suns traded Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to the Charlotte Bobcats as part of a deal for Richardson.
"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.
"When you try to get better, you're going to lose some assets," Charlotte coach Larry Brown said. "We're losing a pretty darn good player and the way Phoenix is trying to make their team, they just added an unbelievable piece."
