Josh Richardson embracing second Heat opportunity: ‘The timing kind of worked out for everybody’

Even after the Miami Heat traded Josh Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the sign-and-trade transaction for Jimmy Butler during the summer of 2019, he never really left South Florida. Richardson kept a house in Miami and often contemplated the possibility of one day returning to the Heat.

Four years later, Richardson is back.

“It kind of was always there,” Richardson said this week when asked if he ever thought about returning to the Heat during his time away. “It almost happened a couple times in the past, but it never really worked out all the way. So the Heat was always kind of in my mind. But I think just the timing kind of worked out for everybody right now.”

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Richardson made the decision last week to return to the Heat in free agency despite receiving bigger offers from other teams.

Richardson signed a two-year deal at the minimum worth about $5.9 million to re-join the Heat. The contract includes a starting salary of $2.9 million and a player option in the second season.

“Sometimes you just got to sacrifice certain things,” Richardson said of passing up on more lucrative offers to reunite with the Heat. “I had talks with the guys and the coaches. After weighing the options, I thought that it would be in my best interest and everyone involved’s best interest to come back and give it another go.”

A conversation with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the first night of free agency helped solidify Richardson’s decision to return. Spoelstra also coached Richardson during his first stint in Miami.

“It was warm feelings,” Richardson said of that discussion with Spoelstra. “It was enough to kind of sway things a little bit. So that should tell you enough about it.”

Richardson was drafted by the Heat with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2015 draft. He spent the first four seasons of his NBA career with the Heat before going on an NBA journey that had him playing for five different teams in the last four seasons.

Richardson spent the 2019-20 season with the 76ers, the 2020-21 season with the Dallas Mavericks, the 2021-22 season with the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs, and last season with the Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans. He’s happy that winding road led him back to the NBA home he knows best.

“Just the way the game is approached,” Richardson said regarding the benefit of returning to the Heat. “It’s hard to compare walking in the gym to the intensity that’s shown here and all the attention to small details to a lot of other places. I think it can just help me get back to doing things how I was once used to.”

Richardson, who can play shooting guard and small forward, turns 30 in September. He averaged 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range in 65 games (10 starts) this past season while splitting the year between the Pelicans and Spurs.

Since leaving the Heat, Richardson has averaged 11.4 points, three rebounds, 2.5 assists and one steal per game while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from three-point range in the last four seasons.

“I don’t think I’m that much different,” Richardson said when asked how he’s changed since he left the Heat as a 25-year-old. “I think that once I get back into the swing of things, growing that same intensity back that I know that they approach every day with, I think that things can be similar.”

Richardson’s best NBA season came with the Heat in 2018-19 — the season before he was traded to the 76ers — when he averaged career-highs in points (16.6 per game), rebounds (3.6 per game) and assists (4.1 per game) in a leading role.

With the duo of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler now at the center of everything the Heat does, Richardson will play more of a supporting role during his second stint with the team whether Miami acquires seven-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard or not.

“I’ll have a different role with Bam, Jimmy and those guys who are the alphas,” Richardson said. “But I don’t have a problem with figuring out where I fit in, where I can best help the team win games.”

Richardson’s defensive versatility and ability to hit spot-up threes will be useful for the Heat. He shot a solid 37.2 percent on 3.9 catch-and-shoot three-point attempts per game last season — the only Heat rotation regular who was more efficient than Richardson on spot-up three-point looks this past season was Tyler Herro.

“I’m kind of a guy who can play wherever,” Richardson said. “You can just throw me out there and I’ll figure it out. Wherever I see where we can use help, I think that’s where I can step into.”

Spoelstra and Richardson spoke about the possibility of reuniting when Richardson was in the process of leaving Miami in 2019.

“We had a talk before I physically left and it was kind of like, ‘There will be a time where we’ll be talking again and it will be possibly to bring you back,’” Richardson recalled.

Richardson is back and he hopes to make the most of his second opportunity with the Heat.