NBA Rumors: Timberwolves Trading for Jason Richardson Would Be Wrong Move
The Minnesota Timberwolves are just one game behind the Houston Rockets for eighth place in the West, and making a trade to offset the lose of Ricky Rubio is a smart move.
Trading for Orlando's Jason Richardson is not.
However, according to RealGM's Jarrod Rudolph, the Wolves have been discussing such a deal with the Magic.
"League sources have told me the Magic are having discussions with Minnesota regarding a trade for Jason Richardson.
— Jarrod N Rudolph (@MisterRudolph) March 13, 2012"
Hoops World's Alex Kennedy takes it one step further by saying the proposed deal also involves troubled forward Michael Beasley.
"Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves discussed a Jason Richardson for Michael Beasley swap. Nothing imminent. Wolves weighing options.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) March 14, 2012"
The fact that "nothing is imminent" is a good sign for 'Wolves fans, but Minnesota shouldn't be this close to this deal in the first place.
Let's take a deeper look into the potential deal.
What Makes Sense About It
The Magic need a true shooting guard. When Rubio was healthy, Luke Ridnour slotted into the 2-spot, and that worked decently well.
But now that Ridnour has to play point guard, the 'Wolves really just have Wesley Johnson, Martell Webster and J.J. Barea as potential 2-guards. Obviously though, none of them are true "shooting" guards who can light it up from deep.
Richardson, who hits about two three-pointers per contest, can light it up.
What's more, trading Beasley for Richardson is essentially trading unwanted contract for unwanted contract. New situations could help both of these guys.
What Doesn't Make Sense About It
Richardson hits a lot of threes, sure, but there are other guys who can put up similar production and don't have as bad of contracts.
J-Rich is under contract through 2015—two years longer than Beasley—at about $6 million per year. He would immediately be the second-highest paid player in Minnesota behind Kevin Love.
Even though he's a good spot-up shooter, Richardson has definitely lost a step or two. He doesn't contribute in many other aspects of the game and it's ugly to imagine how valuable he'll be in 2015 when he's making $6.6 million.
Minnesota is a developing team with a very bright future. Going into panic mode and taking on someone like Richardson does not help the future.
