NBA Trade Grades: Mavericks land Josh Richardson from 76ers

The Dallas Mavericks scooped Josh Richardson from the Philadelphia 76ers for Seth Curry.

The Dallas Mavericks had the most elite offense in NBA history last season but badly needed defensive help on the wing. The Philadelphia 76ers had star-level talent but desperately needed more shooting and balance for their roster.

In a draft-night trade involving the 36th overall pick, both sides got what they were looking for.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the 76ers are sending Josh Richardson and pick No. 36 to Dallas, while Philly will send sharpshooter Seth Curry in return. That draft pick was used to select Tyler Bey out of Colorado.

The Mavs got a recognizable wing who will help on both ends of the floor, while the Sixers continued on their quest to shed salary and address glaring roster needs. The question is, how did both sides fare in this exchange? Here are some new NBA Trade Grades to sort it out.

Philadelphia 76ers

Daryl Morey wasted no time tweaking his roster to shed salary and add shooters on the wing. Earlier on Wednesday, he shipped Al Horford for the Oklahoma  City Thunder in an effort to land the newly-acquired Danny Green and 22-year-old Terrance Ferguson. Then, he sent Josh Richardson to Dallas to get his hands on the sorely underrated other Curry.

Last year in Dallas, Seth Curry averaged 12.4 points per game — nearly matching his career-high 12.8 points per game he posted two years prior, also in Dallas — while shooting a blistering 45.2 percent on 5.0 3-point attempts per game. Both of those numbers were new career highs, despite only playing 24.6 minutes per game, mostly coming off the bench.

For a Sixers squad that could use some help in the backcourt and needs shooting all over, Curry’s floor-spacing (as well as Green’s) will really help open things up for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons on the interior. Despite already being 30, Curry’s shooting will translate well into his 30s, so the remaining three years and $24.5 million on his contract are more than manageable for a high-end role player.

Richardson is a talented two-way wing, but he never really got enough touches in Philly, watching his numbers drop to 13.7 points per game on mundane .430/.341/.809 shooting splits in his lone season there. A change of scenery should do him some good, and the upgrade in the shooting department may ultimately make this trade worth it, even if Richardson is the better overall player.

Grade: B-

Dallas Mavericks

Richardson is the best player in this deal, which automatically gives the Mavs the edge here. Curry’s 3-point shooting and floor-spacing will be missed on such an elite offense, but that wasn’t the end of the floor where Dallas needed help as a team that attempted and made the most 3-pointers last year.

Getting defensive aid was a priority for the Mavericks this offseason, and they just landed a two-way player who was heralded as an essential piece of the Miami Heat’s youth movement until Jimmy Butler became available.

Before arriving in Philly, Richardson enjoyed a career year with the Heat in his fourth NBA season, posting 16.6 points, 4.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He only shot 41.2 percent from the floor, but made 35.7 percent of his career-high 6.3 triples per game. Richardson’s percentages have been up and down over the years, but he did make 37.8 percent of his long-range attempts the season prior on slightly lesser volume.

He’ll still be asked to take plenty of 3s in Dallas, but if he can just make a respectable amount of them (say, 36-38 percent?), the Mavs will benefit from this trade-off from offense to defense. Luka Doncic makes all of his teammates better on the offensive end, but having a guy like Richardson to cover some of his shortcomings on the other side of the ball could go a long way in helping the Mavs move up the Western Conference ladder.

Richardson only has one year and $10.9 million left on his contract before facing an $11.6 million player option for the 2021-22 season, but this gives Dallas a year to examine the 27-year-old wing and determine if he has a long-term place on the future contender they’re trying to assemble around Doncic.

As for the draft pick, Tyler Bey is another defensive-minded pickup. As a big man with a 7-foot-1 wingspan, he’s capable of defending positions 2-4 and possesses impressive athleticism to boot. Thanks to his length and agility, he’s worth the kind of free second-round flier that came from simply trading away a good role player/shooter.

Grade: B+