Miami Heat guard to miss the remainder of the season after surgery

Miami Heat guard Josh Richardson will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder.

Richardson, 30, will undergo surgery on Wednesday morning, according to the Miami Herald. He has been sidelined since his shoulder was dislocated in a Feb. 11 home loss to the Boston Celtics.

According to the Miami Herald, “Richardson, 30, accompanied the team on last week’s Western swing with the expectation that he would return soon. But surgery ultimately was deemed to be the best course.”

Josh Richardson will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair his right shoulder, leaving the Heat without a key member of the rotation.

Richardson, who began his career with the Heat, signed with Miami last summer and will finish the season averaging 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 44.4% shooting (34.7% from 3) in 43 games (six starts). He missed the last eight games before opting for surgery.

The injury occurred in the second quarter of the Feb. 11 loss after an unsuccessful attempt to strip Celtics forward Jayson Tatum of the ball. He slumped to the floor in pain before exiting the game. 

"I felt my shoulder pop out on the floor and then it popped back in laying on the ground, so thank goodness for that," Richardson said then. "I'll know more tomorrow."

Richardson at the time was arguably in the midst of his best stretch of basketball of the season. He had scored double-digit points in four of his last seven games and was shooting 40% from 3 in that span. He has a $3 million player option for next season.

The Heat agreed to sign Patty Mills on Wednesday to address the team’s depth at guard in the wake of Richardson’s longterm injury. They waived Dru Smith to create a roster spot for Mills.

The Heat have completely turned over its point guard rotation since the beginning of the season, going from Kyle Lowry, Richardson and Smith to Terry Rozier, Delon Wright and Mills.