Josh Richardson
As the 40th pick in the 2015 NBA draft, Josh Richardson has certainly made great strides in a short period of time. He has gone from being sent to the D-league early in his rookie season to now being the favourite to replace Wade as the Heat’s shooting guard. His transformation during the second half of last season was quite remarkable.
Over the last 29 games of the regular season, Richardson averaged 10.3 points per game in 29 minutes per game. He shot an astounding 52.7 percent from three-point range whilst having a very low usage rate of 13.8 per game. This small sample size certainly gave a glimpse into what Richardson could produce in the future. And as outstanding as this stretch was, Richardson’s calling card when entering the league was his defence.
The timing of Richardson’s emergence has come at great time for the Heat. With Wade departing, Richardson represents a terrific selection as his replacement. His combination of high level defence, outstanding athleticism and an ever improving offensive game will perfectly compliment the direction in which the Heat are heading. Miami are clearly looking to push the ball and run, fitting Richardson’s game to a tee. He is shown he can excel off the ball, which will be a great compliment with the ball in Dragic’s hands.
Richardson’s recent knee injury was an untimely hiccup which may see him missing a short part of the regular season. However, Richardson is going to be very determined with much to prove on a number of fronts. Firstly, he will be unwavering in proving that his emergence late last season was no fluke. Richardson played just 52 games last season, so he still has much to prove over a longer stretch of time.
Furthermore, the Heat have brought in a number of players (Dion Waiters, Wayne Ellington, matched Tyler Johnson) who could also play as the starting shooting guard. This will challenge Richardson to prove not only to himself, but the Heat’s coaching staff, that he is the best man for the role.