The Heat need to strike while the iron is hot. Josh Richardson just scored 31, his value has never been higher, so now is the time to trade him for Jimmy Butler. If Riley sweet-talks Thibs enough, maybe he could even make it a straight one-for-one deal. Richardson for Butler. Straight up. I don’t know if the contracts match or anything, but that’s not my problem.
There comes a time in every franchise’s life where they need to reconsider the direction they’re heading. And for most of them, it’s after they get stomped by the Kings. I don’t care how good the Kings supposedly are this year, the Heat should not be losing to them. Changes need to be made. It’s harsh to trade your best player right after his best game for your team, true. But it’s also harsh to lose to the Kings.
If the Richardson for Butler trade isn’t ideal for all parties, the Bucks offer to add Thon Maker as a sweetener. For one party or another. Or both. There’s no rule that says he can’t play for two teams at the same time.
For once in the history of the universe, Heat fans were right to hype up Richardson incessantly. Congratulations! He is actually good even though I was forcefed praise about him every time I opened up my social media. At least, he’s good at scoring. The other stuff, the defense stuff, I can’t really say. Someone who actually watches the Heat, tell me if he’s still a good defender or if he’s let that part of his game slip so he can score points.