Five Josh Richardson Trades

The most valuable trade piece.

[Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images]

Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He has been legally banned from covering the team in person, but that ban will be lifted in March of 2020. He is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.

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You can probably imagine that when a pandemic hits and all professional and collegiate sports come to a halt, it becomes a bit tougher to come up with weekly subject matter for these columns -- especially because I’m not as smart as AU.

This week’s topic was a bit easier to decide. As I was listening to the discussion regarding Josh Richardson on the most recent Ricky, Spike made the decision. “Sixers Adam,” he began, referring to me by the name I was given at birth. “I know you’re listening to this. Write a Josh Richardson trade piece.”

Here you go, boss.

I’ve been thinking about Richardson trades for a few months now. He was my favorite Sixer to watch in the early portion of the season -- but things have changed a bit since then: Richardson’s production, specifically offensively, became stagnant -- a stagnation that quickly turned to regression. Richardson’s defense was helpful as usual, but he went from okay offensively to a negative. And given the surrounding personnel, the Sixers can’t afford to pass up points. Richardson shot just 32.7 percent from beyond the arc in the regular season, a career-low. He failed to add off-the-dribble creation, whether it be his failure to succeed as a backup point guard or add any sort of punch as a secondary ball-handler. For all of these reasons, plus the fact that next season is the last on his contract, I think dealing Richardson should very much be in consideration, if not a priority. He can be very helpful somewhere, but given the makeup of the top of this roster, I don’t think this is where he will be optimized.

Trade #1: Richardson and Zhaire Smith to Brooklyn for Spencer Dinwiddie

On a Trade Deadline preview pod in the winter, I pitched a straight-up swap of Richardson and Dinwiddie. The three of us agreed that while Josh is both good and enjoyable, it was a move the Sixers should make if possible because of what Dinwiddie would provide as a perimeter creator of offense. This remains true, even if the price may be a bit higher because of Richardson’s disappointing season.

For Brooklyn, this is a move geared towards Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, whose presences next year will limit the value of Dinwiddie’s production, which stems from on-ball dominance. Replacing him with a stout and versatile defender -- who is at his worst competent offensively and at his best a useful shooter and slasher -- could help strike a balance between star tendencies and complementary abilities. Am I sure they’d do it? No; Dinwiddie is a valued member of that team, and a sign of the fruits of their rebuilding labor. But for two players on nearly identical contracts, a swap of situations doesn’t sound like the worst idea in the world, does it?

Trade #2: Richardson and Mike Scott to Oklahoma City for Dennis Schroder

A similar idea here: Schroder is less attractive than Dinwiddie based on name value (and should not be considered equally valuable), but is coming off a damn impressive year in OKC. Despite being stuck behind Chris Paul and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the depth chart, he played well enough to earn 31 minutes per game on a very good team. He did so on the back of a career-best shooting season -- 38.1 percent from three-point range on over five attempts per game -- and a much more refined approach that led to greatly improved efficiency and effectiveness. With OKC already starting two point guards, and SGA being their star of the future, many expect them to explore dealing Schroder, who teams were calling them about at the deadline. Not only does Richardson fit better in OKC positionally, but his contract is one year shorter, allowing the Thunder some added financial flexibility. It’s an additional financial commitment for the Sixers, but one they should be willing to make. Schroder’s playmaking would add a new dimension to this offense.

Trade #3: Richardson to Golden State for a 2021 first-round pick 

I went way outside the box here, but let me explain. This summer, Golden State will have access to a massive trade exception (an exception that allows them to take a certain-sized salary in without sending any money). They will likely begin hunting for bigger game than Richardson, but he could be a nice fall-back option. Their first-round pick this year will be too high to trade, but they can give up their pick next year, which the Sixers could easily turn and trade immediately (perhaps a three-team deal?), hang onto as midseason trade bait, or even keep in order to bolster the pipeline of young talent. If they held onto the pick, they’d run the risk of Golden State returning to their prior juggernaut form and its value deteriorating rapidly. But it would give them something they have not had in so long: optionality.

Trade #4: Richardson to New York for Reggie Bullock, Wayne Ellington and the 38th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft

Another new idea here: instead of using Richardson to upgrade one spot, how about using him to bolster the bench? I know this seems like an underwhelming return, but I think there’s a real case it would be a wise move. 

The Sixers offense struggled mightily this year, as they went from having multiple reliable movement shooters who functioned at the epicenter of much of their offense to not having any movement shooters at all. Here, they add two. Bullock and Ellington are both on medium-sized salaries (allowing for a potential midseason trade if necessary), both would come with early bird rights in the summer of 2021, and both can shoot the hell out of the ball. With this move, the Sixers would instantly be able to reinsert what was by far their most effective method of generating looks from deep, they’d improve the overall quality of their bench and, again, add optionality.

Trade #5: Richardson, Scott, the 34th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and New York’s 2021 second-round pick to Orlando for Evan Fournier

This is probably the most cut-and-dry option: using a few valuable second-round picks to upgrade the shooting guard position, from Richardson to Fournier, who is a better shooter and a significantly more polished overall offensive player. He is a good scorer, and it would shine through on a Sixers team desperate for a player like him. During this past offseason, I wondered how often the Sixers would attack point guards who were often forced to defend the larger Richardson. The answer turned out to be, not that much. And when they did, it wasn’t incredibly successful. Now imagine Richardson, but three inches taller, stronger and much more skilled offensively. A Simmons-Fournier-Harris-Horford-Embiid lineup is far from flawless, but who does an opposing point guard defend against them? I’m genuinely not sure.