Former Miami Heat swingman Josh Richardson is returning to the Heat on a two-year deal, as reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The Heat had just lost out on Gabe Vincent, who reportedly would have loved to stay with the team, to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Heat were unwilling to budge from their $7.7 million starting salary offer.
Vincent was Miami’s starting point guard throughout the playoffs and his production will be hard to replace relative to the amount of money he was making.
The team’s signing of Richardson has softened the blow a bit, as the 6-foot-5 shooting guard is known for his 3-point shooting and perimeter defense. He played this season for the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.
He averaged 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game during the 2022-23 regular season.
The former University of Tennessee standout apparently was offered a bigger contract by another team, but he opted to reunite with Erik Spoelstra and the Heat after having a conversation with the head coach on Friday night.
Richardson last played for the Heat during the 2018-19 season where he averaged a career-high 16.9 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting from the field and 35.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. He also added 3.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
After nearly losing in the play-in tournament, the Heat rallied all the way from their second play-in game to make it all the way to the NBA Finals this season. Although they were beat by Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in five games, nobody expected them to even get past their first-round opponents in the Milwaukee Bucks.
It’s highly likely that the Heat are not done dealing yet, as they have been heavily linked to Damian Lillard along with numerous free agents.