He didn’t exactly get a Last Dance-style send-off, but on Wednesday, Josh Richardson retired from the NBA after 10 seasons. Richardson was drafted 40th overall in the 2015 draft and played for the Heat, Spurs, 76ers, Pelicans, Mavericks, and, for a brief stint, the Boston Celtics.
Josh wasn’t the most memorable Celtics player ever, but he actually was a vital signing as he became the centerpiece of the team’s 2022 trade deadline deal for Derrick White. Boston used some of their traded player exception to acquire Richardson from the Mavericks in the 2021 offseason, and they gave him a contract extension.
He played fine for Boston, averaging almost 10 points per game on 40% three-point shooting, with solid defensive chops. But it was never an ideal fit, and Brad Stevens quickly saw this, packaging Richardson with Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick which became Blake Wesley, and a 2028 first-round pick swap for D-White.
White obviously came in and fit like a glove, helping spark a second-half turnaround that brought that team to the Finals. White is still on the team and played a huge part in the 2024 championship run as well. We’ll see where the 2028 swap with San Antonio ends up (Boston likely re-swapped their pick in the Jaylen Brown trade), but it’s hard to call that trade anything other than a huge win for the Celtics.
Without adding Richardson, the Celtics may never get Derrick White
Richardson was a good soldier in Boston for 44 games, and without his acquisition and eventual trade, the Celtics may still be chasing banner 18. It’s also a good reminder of the importance of traded player exceptions and why sometimes, it’s not so much about the player you add, but pushing the asset down the road.
That’s exactly what Stevens and the Celtics did here. Rather than let the Hayward TPE expire, they used it on Richardson, and they used his salary to make the trade for the player they truly coveted down the road.
As for Richardson, the 31-year-old had a very solid start to his career in Miami, but things went downhill ever since leaving, with a lot of one-year stints where he struggled to find his role. He’ll retire with 554 career games played, 11.5 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, and 2.6 assists per game. He also appeared in 30 playoff games, but never made it out of the second round.
Congratulations to Josh on a solid career, and hopefully he can enjoy retirement. The Celtics will always be indebted to him for his service and, more importantly, for allowing the team to add Derrick White back in 2022.
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