The writing may already be on the wall for Nick Richards to land with the Miami Heat before the start of training camp, likely once the dust settles on the Klay Thompson front (whether that ends up happening or not).
At this point, the noise surrounding that possibility, from Richards working out with current Heat players to even donning official Heat gear during some of those workouts, is just too loud. If (or when) that gets announced, that's probably not going to come as a huge surprise.
Most of the Heat fan base may even be quick to scoff it off.
The Heat signing Nick Richards would be an underrated depth move
If it does end up happening, though, it's a move that could pay dividends for Miami. Perhaps most importantly, it's one that the Heat may not even realize now that it needs to make.
Even though signing Richards may not be as sexy a move as an announcement for Thompson would be at this stage of the offseason, this possible signing has the chance to be one of the more underrated depth moves the Heat has made all summer long.
On paper, the Heat absolutely need more shooting and playmaking. Those concerns have been heard and do hold water. That's part of the reason why Miami appears to have put their entire roster construction on hold until there's a resolution on the Thompson front.
However, especially if they want to protect against unnecessary wear and tear on their two superstars (Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo), they're also going to need to add more depth in the frontcourt.
Getting through the regular season is a battle in its own, and especially for such a veteran roster, adding another big who could eat up some of those minutes and games wouldn't be considered a bad thing.
That's why Richards may make much more sense than even most Heat fans realize.
Nick Richards could help get the Heat to the postseason healthy
Heading into the start of the season, one of the biggest priorities for the Heat must revolve around getting to the postseason healthy. If they can do that, the Heat will have as good a chance as any other team to make an NBA Finals run.
That won't happen without a healthy Giannis, and that's where Richards can help.
As things currently stand, the Heat will have a big man rotation that consists of Giannis, Bam, Bobby Portis, and maybe Nikola Jovic and Simone Fontecchio (depending on what positions those two will play this season).
If the Heat were able to add Richards to that rotation, there's no question they'd have enough depth that the frontcourt wouldn't be questioned at all. And, heading into a season where other big questions do reside, quieting those questions in the frontcourt would be huge for the Heat in their first year with Giannis.
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