Proposed Trade Turns Heat’s $90 Million Blunder Into ‘Versatile Two-Way Wing’

Getty San Antonio Spurs wing Josh Richardson warms up prior to a game against the Miami Heat.

For the first time since their heart-wrenching loss to the Beantowners in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Miami Heat played a basketball game on Tuesday night. Squaring off against the new-look T-Wolves in their exhibition opener, Bam Adebayo and Co. lost by a 121-111 score at FTX Arena.

While the game was largely standard fare for the preseason — with key players sitting, young guys getting run and odd lineup combinations being employed — Heat fans also saw something that became a rare occurrence during the team’s ill-fated playoff run: Duncan Robinson playing more than just garbage-time minutes.

Alas, he had the kind of night that was all too common last season.

In 18 minutes of action, Robinson scored five points on just 1-of-8 shooting (and 0-of-6 from three-point range). And while this is just one warm-up contest we’re talking about, it’s probably safe to assume that Miami continues to have some level of buyer’s remorse on the five-year, $90 million pact it signed with the baller last offseason.

Getting off said deal would be a tall order. However, Heavy.com‘s Sean Deveney has one trade idea that would accomplish just that — while also giving the Heat another steady hand for a run at the chip.

Josh Richardson Returns to South Beach in Hypothetical Trade

After polling executives around the league about “quiet” trade targets who could get moved sometime in the next several months, Deveney came up with a list that included former Heat wing Josh Richardson. Not only that — the league insider pitched the following deal as a hypothetical scenario:

• San Antonio Spurs receive G/F Duncan Robinson and a future first-round pick
• Miami Heat receive G/F Josh Richardson

Obviously, losing the pick to shed Robinson’s suddenly-horrific contract would be no small thing, especially given Miami’s dearth of draft assets. It’s a small price to pay, though, to rectify one of Pat Riley’s rare misses (and, boy, did he miss) in recent years. On top of that, Robinson is a player who actually has a lot to offer a title-chasing team like the Heat.

Wrote Deveney:

He is an excellent defender and established himself as a very versatile two-way wing going back to his four seasons in Miami, after he was a second-round pick in 2015. He has one year worth $12.2 million on his deal, and the Spurs are in the midst of a rebuild.

Meanwhile, an East exec told Heavy.com, “Obviously, he has a great rapport with that Heat franchise, he started there.”

There’s also this to consider: if Richardson can recapture some of that old, South Beach magic, you may be able to get a first-round pick back for him in the future.

Richardson’s Career Was Careening Before Last Season

Richardson’s time with the Heat — who selected him with the 40th overall pick of the 2015 NBA draft — continues to represent the high-water mark for his career to date. After battling to earn a spot, he consistently progressed to the point that, in 2018-19,  he averaged an impressive 16.6 points, 4.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Despite that, the team included him in the big Jimmy Butler trade with the Philadelphia 76ers after the season, and he has been living the life of a hardwood vagabond ever since.

Over the next two years, he underperformed in brief stints with the Sixers and the Dallas Mavericks. Then, before last season, he was acquired by the Boston Celtics, who shipped him off to the San Antonio Spurs at the deadline.

On the plus side, his efficiency on the court improved along the way.

Splitting time with the Cs and Spurs in 2021-22, Richardson averaged 10.2 PPG, but his three-point conversion rate jumped from 33% with the Mavs in 2020-21 to an impressive 41.5%. Additionally, San Antonio was 8.7 points per 100 possessions better with Richardson on the floor after he joined them for the stretch run.