Celtics

Celtics reportedly finalizing trade for Mavericks guard Josh Richardson

The Celtics will use what's left of the trade exception they got for Gordon Hayward to complete the trade.

Josh Richardson is trading the Mavericks green jerseys for the Celtics green jerseys. AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

July 30, 2021

Brad Stevens continued to shake up the Celtics’ roster on Friday.

The Celtics are trading for Mavericks guard Josh Richardson, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Friday. Boston will give up what’s remaining on the trade exception it received for Gordon Hayward in 2020 in the trade. To make the trade work, Richardson is picking up his $11.6 million player option for the 2021-22 season.

Richardson, 27, is coming off a season in which he struggled shooting for Dallas. After getting traded before the start of the season, Richardson scored 12.1 points per game while shooting 42.7% from the field and 33% from 3-point range.

While Richardson’s shooting was subpar in Dallas, his defensive ability was praised there and in his prior stops in Philadelphia and Miami.

Drafted by the Heat in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft, Richardson played the first four seasons of his career in Miami. Richardson’s best season arguably came in 2018-19. He scored a career-best 16.6 points per game while shooting 35.7% from 3-point territory on 6.3 attempts per game. He also flashed some ability as a playmaker, averaging 4.1 assists per game that year.

Richardson’s time in Miami came to an end following the 2018-19 season when the Heat traded him to the 76ers for Jimmy Butler. Richardson scored 13.7 points per game in Philadelphia but was traded to Dallas for Seth Curry after one year.

The trade with the Mavericks comes hours after it was reported Boston would trade Tristan Thompson to Sacramento and would get Kris Dunn from Atlanta. It’s also their third trade of the offseason, with the first being the deal that sent Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City for Al Horford and Moses Brown.

The Celtics could still be busy on the trade front. The Celtics could look to move Dunn in a separate trade, The Boston Globe‘s Adam Himmelsbach reported.