During the 2020 NBA Draft, the Dallas Mavericks took a chance on trading a sharpshooter in Seth Curry in exchange for Josh Richardson, who was ideally to provide an improvement to the team's wing defense.
Curry went on to average a highly impressive 18.8 points in 12 appearances in the playoffs while Richardson struggled to consistently find the floor, let alone make a positive impact.
DBcom has reported before that one way to re-build this roster is to part with Richardson. That time might be coming.
The Mavericks face a situation where moving on from Richardson is the best course of action. However, he has an $11.4 million player option that he will likely opt-in for. In order to move on from him, Dallas will need to pursue the trade market.
As confirmed now by Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer, the Mavericks have already begun conducting trade talks centered around the veteran shooting guard.
Dallas has actively explored trade scenarios involving Josh Richardson, sources said, in the event the swingman opts in to his 2021-22 player option. The Mavericks must make their own efforts to clear salary space for a planned spurge in free agency that still appears to prioritize retaining Tim Hardaway Jr. in addition to Dallas' other pursuits.
The market for Richardson is not expected to be robust but there are a few teams who could look to take the same gamble on him that Dallas did last offseason. A team that stands out, in particular, is the Miami Heat, who could need to replace Victor Oladipo.
A team like the Oklahoma City Thunder, which could take on salary dump trade scenarios could be ideal for the Mavericks. That would require attaching an asset or two to get a deal done, but if there is a need for pure salary cap space, it's the best avenue.
The Mavericks recently were linked to Kyle Lowry among the potential suitors for a potential sign-and-trade scenario. Moving on from Richardson would be especially important to have the necessary cap space to land him and would be even more so the case to factor in re-signing Tim Hardaway Jr.
During the 2020-21 season, Josh Richardson provided the Mavericks with averages of 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. He converted at a clip of 42.7-percent from the field and 33.0-percent from beyond the arc.
Richardson's production dropped drastically during the playoffs as he averaged just 4.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 13.4 minutes per game. He played just 6:04 in Game 7 of the series.
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