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Celtics News: Josh Richardson Agrees to 1-Year Contract Extension After July Trade
August 23, 2021
Josh Richardson is reportedly set to stay with his new team for multiple years.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Richardson and the Celtics agreed to a one-year extension on his contract that now is set to pay him $24 million over the next two seasons.
Charania explained Richardson previously opted into the 2021-22 campaign before the Celtics announced in July they acquired him from the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for center Moses Brown.
The upcoming season will be Richardson's seventh in the NBA after spending his first six on the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and Mavericks. He played for the Heat during his first four campaigns and spent one year in Philadelphia and another in Dallas.
The Tennessee product is a solid secondary scorer and averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game last season for the Mavericks, although he connected on a career-worst 33.0 percent of his three-pointers.
Boston will surely want to see some improvements from beyond the arc, especially if he is playing alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and can prevent opposing defenses from collapsing on the two stars by hitting from the outside.
It wouldn't be a surprise to see Richardson anchoring the second unit, though, especially as someone who is versatile enough to defend multiple positions.
Opponents shot 2.0 percent worse overall and 7.6 percent worse within 10 feet of the basket than their normal averages when he defended them last season, per NBA.com.
Pairing that defense with Marcus Smart's ability on that end of the floor will make life difficult for opposing offenses for multiple seasons after the Oklahoma State product also agreed to a contract extension with the Celtics this offseason.
Smart is signed in Boston through the 2025-26 season.
Richardson's first regular season game with the Celtics is scheduled for Oct. 20 against the New York Knicks.