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It was a quiet draft night for Celtics president Brad Stevens on Thursday, but he’s racking up trade with free agencies around the corner. Boston acquires Josh Richardson from Mavericks in trade, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
It’s a solid decision for the Celtics; Richardson is also expected to fit into the remaining space of Gordon Hayward’s commercial exception. Richardson exercised his $ 11.6 million player option, which is too big for the exception. But if trade declines before the league’s new year begins on Monday, it still counts towards his current salary of $ 10.8 million, which is the exception.
The move frees up space for the Mavs in a likely pursuit of free agent Kyle Lowry. On the other side, the Celtics get a solid pickup at Richardson, the 6-foot-6 wing. Richardson averaged 12.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game for Dallas last season. Richardson leaves desire in the 3-point shooting (33.0% last season), but he should strengthen the depth and defense of the team.
Richardson saw his role in the Mavs playoffs diminish as Tim Hardaway Jr. emerged, but he found success in the league. He was traded from the 76ers to the Mavs last offseason in exchange for Seth Curry. With the Celtics already scoring from the wings, Richardson can likely have a smaller attacking role while also being a stellar defensive player.
Richardson’s trade comes just hours after Stevens offloaded Tristan Thompson in a three-team trade with the Kings and Hawks. The Celtics landed Kris Dunn, Bruno Fernando and a 2023 second-round pick in the deal. There is a clear focus on Stevens’ defense to get Dunn and Richardson, which should help consider the style and fit with freshman coach Ime Udoka.
While the Celtics created a bit more ceiling space in the Kemba Walker and Thompson trades, they seemed to use a lot of it to trade for Richardson.
This makes the new signing of Evan Fournier a more difficult path with Richardson’s contract now on the books. Fournier is an unrestricted free agent, although the Celtics can go over the cap to sign him using their bird rights. But the Celtics are eyeing future financial flexibility – and perhaps maximum contract spot for a superstar down the line.
If Fournier signs for several years at his expected price bracket, that significantly handicaps the Celtics, unless another pay cut is in the works. Richardson also only has the player option for the 2021-22 season on his contract, meaning he’ll be a free agent next summer, opening up space for the Celtics.
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