Boston Celtics: 2 realistic trade destinations for Josh Richardson

Boston Celtics trade partner No. 2) Utah Jazz

Once again, the Utah Jazz find themselves in the midst of a stellar regular season, going 31-21 and stationing themselves soundly within the top-5 seeds out West through 52 games played, but, despite these successes, they, unfortunately, have not been impervious to hardships.

Most notably, they just saw one of their key figures in Joe Ingles go down with a torn ACL, thus leaving this ball club that’s legitimately looking to contend this season with a sizeable hole within their second-unit rotation.

In response to this undesirable turn of events, Utah’s front office is already reportedly stepping into action in an effort to try and fill the void left behind by Ingles and, just recently, it was whispered that Josh Richardson is a person of interest for the franchise.

According to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype, the Jazz have been scouring the market for defensive-minded wings to replace the likes of Ingles and, among several players, the Boston Celtics veteran wing was listed as a seriously considered option:

"Utah has discussed several wing options, including Harrison Barnes, Robert Covington, Josh Richardson, Josh Okogie, sources say. They’ve certainly done due diligence, and the mold of finding a defensive wing certainly appears to fit with all those names. There’s a commonality there."

Richardson finds himself in the midst of somewhat of a resurgence season this year with the shamrocks and has quickly become one of coach Udoka’s most trusty closing commodities.

The veteran 3-and-D wing has also been quite a difference-maker during Boston’s recent surge, averaging 13 points, 2.8 rebounds, and just shy of a block through the past five outings (the team has gone 4-1 during this span) on 58 percent shooting from the floor and  48 percent shooting from deep.

Perhaps the Jazz and the C’s may find it beneficial to swap Richardson for the injured Ingles, as the former would help Donovan Mitchell and co. stay on the right path towards a hopeful title run come the postseason while the latter could go on to help Stevens and co. clear up some cap space as they head into the upcoming offseason (Ingles’ contract expires at the end of this current campaign).