The Miami Heat have signed Nick Richards to a one-year deal with their 14th roster spot, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania was among the first to report Thursday.
The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson later confirmed the move.
This move shouldn’t be a surprise. As Jackson reported earlier in the day, the Heat were targeting a big man with their 14th roster spot — and Richards was seen working out inside the practice facility in all Heat gear last week.
His one-year deal will be non-guaranteed until the start of the season — similar to when the Heat brought in Precious Achiuwa ahead of last season. Thus, he’s still the 14th player on a standard contract, but his spot isn’t quite guaranteed yet.
In 48 combined games with the Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls, Richards averaged 5.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. He shot 52.3 percent from the floor with a 57.7 true shooting percentage.
He will be the Heat’s third “big” off the bench, even though he’s a more natural center than Bobby Portis, a stretch 5. Richards is a good rebounder, rim runner and vertical spacer. He’s also not a poor shot blocker, but still has room to improve as a (drop) defender
What are your thoughts on this move? Let us know in the comments!
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Whatever we do now is gravy with the fifteenth spot. We can afford to relax a little, see what shakes out. We should be able to get the player we eventually decide on as we have built a desirable team to play with and we have enough money left to entice most of the options that will become available. The heavy lifting is done, no need to hurry anymore. Get creative, go work everyone out, even the retreads like Simmons, VO, and who knows who else, go watch all their games, and then decide.
I’m reading that Clippers have withdrawn their offer to Mathurin, making him a free agent. I would definitely take a flyer on him and have him work on his defense.
Josh Green to Utah
Miami could get Konchar now, not as good of a recent shooter as Green but a similar wing/smallball 4, brings team defense, rebounding, steals etc. Backup wings would then be Fontecchio, Jovic, Gardner, Konchar, that’s a versatile bench rotation.
Heat were a team with reported interest in Konchar before 2025 trade deadline, when they traded Butler instead of adding to the team. Not sure if that was just Memphis trying to create a trade market for Konchar but he’s definitely a Heat player. Can not do better with the 15th roster spot than Konchar IMO who is a legit rotation player.
Larsson?
I was counting Larsson as a guard along with THJ, Dru, Conwell but yeah he is also a wing who can switch 1-3 on defense and guard some 4s. If his role in FIBA is any indication, not sure if it is, he would be a guard initiating the offense as sixth man on this team.
G – Davion, Larsson, THJ, Dru, Conwell
F – Wiggins, Klay, Fontecchio, Jovic, Gardner, (Konchar)
C – Bam, Giannis, Portis, Richards
A deep, positionless roster with a lot of lineup combinations
Both Niko and Simone solid games in qualifications.
Pelle’s FTA per game is the #1 story IMO that can translate to NBA this year. Around 14 FTA per game, big jump from last year in FIBA.
Simone was top 30 in gravity last year of 234 players who played >50 games, think he could have a big year playing off of Giannis
I just saw this on FANSIDED. I didn’t realize Richards’ stats were so impressive. He is exactly the type of back-up big man the Heat needed.
Nick Richards was the missing piece for the second unit
…For those concerned with Richards’ fluctuating minutes in 2025-26, he ranked in the 98th percentile in rim protection, the 92nd percentile in post defense, and the 98th percentile in both defensive rebounds and offensive rebounds per 75 possessions in 2024-25.
With Portis spacing the floor and Richards working the interior, the Heat could have one of the better backup big men pairings in the NBA in 2026-27. For Adebayo and Antetokounmpo, that means they could actually get the chance to rest during games rather than having to be on the court to avoid Miami experiencing a free fall.
The final piece of the starting line-up still needs to be decided, [Thompson, Larsson or Hardaway] but the Heat signing Richards means they’ve completed their second unit and created the depth and balance Antetokounmpo lacked in Milwaukee.
bc could use an upgrade for jewelry kyrie or jrue would do.otherwise think where a dynamic pg or 2g from jewelry.we are close maybe there cant wait .dolphins nothing to look forward to
Richards is one of the best backup centers we’ve had in a long time. Maybe since Birdman?
Richards is exactly what we’ve been looking for in a big man. Interior defense and rebounding. He is also a very good lob threat I can see him and Portis working very well together in/outside.
Worse case scenario, for the 15th slot, Heat can bring in and attempt to rebab Vincent, Simmons or Ball, promote someone from Sioux Falls or wait to see who might become available via trade.
Jovic is going to need to come in to camp breathing fire if he expects to get any playing time. If he plays up to his potential, he could theoretically start at SF and Wiggins can go to SG. If he is otherwise playable, he can sub for Wiggins at SF and possibly play a little PF. If he is playable, he may also be tradable.
Cam Whitmore waived
They won’t add him, and probably doesn’t fit the win now team they are building, but he’s just 22 years old…still an elite athlete. I wouldn’t hate it.
I’d prefer him to Gabe as I feel he has more upside and he plays a position we haven’t talked about as much, but we may be thinner at then guard.
He would be a reserve without much playing time. At most, invite him to camp for a tryout and/or sign him on 2 way.
Two way?
He would be eligible, but Gabe is not. Player must have less than 4 years in regular NBA. I think Whitmore will get a vet minimum somewhere.
He was benched last year on a tanking team for his defense, would be surprised if the Heat pick him up
This is a team, which should be able to compete for the 4th seed and its serious contender for east semi-finals. From now on there should be playing games and looking for opportunities to bring in another high end guard… Holiday, Irving, Lilard type of player.
October 21st vs the Wolves the league gets put on notice.
I think we won’t know how just good they can be until we see just how good the defense will be. I’m not worried about 3 point shooting with Mitchell, Wiggins, Thompson, Hardaway, Portis, Fontecchio and Conwell.
Ethan on 5OTF made an excellent point. The money that would have gone to Norm Powell turned into Klay, Hardaway, Fontechio and Richards.
Yes…some logical fiscal sense. This Kyrie smoke would be the bomb!
powells the best player though
One way player.
Like we were saying, let it all play out. If there is one thing this front office is good at is surrounding a talented player with pieces that fit. We back!
good with wade not so much quitter
Quitter’s fault
no it wasnt when bams coming up to jokers chest how is that quitters fault.never got us a big.quiter was a top 5 player in playoffs.easily
Quitter insisted on having his buddy Lowry here. You always say the fo must kiss the ss ass and give them anything they ask for. Riley did and it was a huge mistake that prevented any further signings that could’ve helped. You remember the trade? Dragic and Precious. Remember what you wrote on this very thread?
“if precious on roster add 3 – 5 wins imo”
But not just that. It was the $85m they handed Lowry because of quitter. Quitter caused the problem.
true but how can u have little bam guarding jokic get a 7 footer put the deadman in.bam was dwarfed by cheap shotter rc
Yes, that was a serious mismatch.
when bam came up to guard him i dont think jokic even saw him he was that much smaller
I felt like that watching Zo trying to guard prime Shaq.
why mr nice guy now (alice cooper) i like when u disagree with me more .i believe your standard reply use to be nobody can guard jokic.come on rc did 30 have a talk with u
Heat could have nabbed a pretty good seven footer for what they paid Lowry. Unfortunately, quitter was sold on Lowry and Riley/Spo were sold on small ball and making quitter happy. The Heat couldn’t make it work because they didn’t have the Splash Brothers. They had Lowry and Herro.
I still feel Bam makes a great center against smaller teams. Not so much against the NBA’s monsters. Imo, he is built like a natural PF and has played out of position his entire career. At least this year, he has a second PF alongside of him able to share the load and a couple of good front court reserves. This is the first time Miami will have that luxury during Bam’s entire 8 year career.
All the team needs now is another two way playmaker who is able to run the fast break and hit his 3’s. Conwell or Donaldson may become that player by the playoffs. Dru can raise his stock this season also if he chooses to up his shot count. I’m sure Davion knows he has to do the same.
ask jimmy johnson did he give his ss a longer leash than a scrub.at the time the trade was made i dont believe lowry was a turtle yet.that 85 mil in bank acct would get lots guys not fully motivated.its the whiteside syndrome and i dont mean vanilla players i mean the og of heat laziness hassan whiteside
Age and wear and tear had something to do with it also.
When you’re right, you’re right. I’ll have plenty of opportunities to disagree with you on other issues. Lowry was okay his first season, but that $85m was bad from the start. And then came the Rozier trade. Ugh.
I think this is Pat’s last big swing at roster construction. He did a fine job. If somehow he could pull off that Kyrie trade, they got a good shot at the finals. But I think that Larrson and Jovic need to up their stats a bit and Kyrie becoming more disgruntled for Dallas to consider it. Maybe closer to the trade deadline is a possibility. We’ll see.
The Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks are reportedly discussing and finalizing a trade that would send Kyrie Irving to Miami, while Dallas would go into full rebuild mode around Cooper Flagg.
Miami Heat receive:
– Kyrie Irving
Dallas Mavericks receive:
– Nikola Jović
– Pelle Larsson
– 2028 1st Round Pick
– 2029 2nd Round Pick
– 2030 1st Round Pick
agree a talent like kyrie although been banged up alot lately gonna prob take more than pelle and jovic.outside of miami what is a pelle and a jovic 2 no names.i would say the 3 best handles all time kyrie ant isiah.pat pulls off that deal were def the favs to win it all.
That is not a legal trade financially. The salaries are the not close. You’d have to add Wiggins in there somewhere.
Another in a recent series of exciting days for the Heat. We finished out the roster about as well as we possibly could. This team now has a chance to make some noise. And Giannis should be happy that he made the right move. .
Now, the rest of the team will have to step up on their mid range shots…since we don’t have a DeRozan or a Middleton or a Bradley whose mid range shots are quite reliable and a threat to any team.
rome was built in a day heres proof great job pat
It’s pretty close to completion now.
when greeks on bench dont have a derozan point getter.would have preferred dd to klay or we get both thats champ roster
So, if you can’t have both, you’re saying you’d rather have DeRozan? I think Klay is the better fit.
Thompson made 41.8% of his two-pointers last year. The worst qualified two-point scorer in the league last season was Bub Carrington, who made 44.3% of his twos.When Klay is run off the arc, he also tends to turn the ball over a lot. He’s had a passing turnover rate of 16% or greater for each of the last four years. That’s real bad. His 16% passing turnover rate last season ranked in the 19th percentile for all players. He adds no value in the possession game with his rebounding, either, and he’s not causing any havoc on defense these days. He ranked in the first percentile of deflections per 100 possessions, and the fourth percentile of forced turnovers per 100 possessions. Thompson can still execute the assignment to some extent defensively, but he’s not going help you get out in transition or get you any extra possessions.
I disagree with this copy and paste. Sounds like a hater.
hes a 3pt specialist prob 80% shots are 3s i would think rc.theres a reason gsw didnt offer him big $$.father time undefeated.pat will get him in heat shape.can u imagine a lineup of kyrie bam greek klay and take your pick.id like to be that take your pick guy.wow kyrie coming to so beach hopefully.exciting exciting.dolphins football starts soon yawn.marlins always make me yawn.panthers are great but hockeys my 4th sport.
Here is copy and paste that sees it a little differently.
Thompson is still one of the best three-point shooters in the NBA. He attempted 16.6 three-pointers per 100 possessions last season, which was only topped by Steph Curry and LaMelo Ball. He knocked them down at a 38.8% clip, which is still well above league-average. Thompson isn’t the defender he once was, but he graded out much better on that end than Hardaway Jr. did last season. Klay was a 55th percentile defender in Dallas last year per epm, while Hardaway Jr. finished in the sixth percentile in the same metric. Thompson’s one-year defensive true shooting impact was +1.2 according to RAPM, while Hardaway’s was -0.3.
hardaway jr been a backup his whole career.klay has been an all star his whole career.i personally rather have dd rc .
I’m happy for you.
ty bro thats the nicest thing youve ever said to me.enjoy your panamal canal cruise soon in a few months.go heat go cruising
Zach Lowe breakdowns why he believes Klay Thompson is a BETTER fit in Miami than people realize:
“Klay will be one of the most important screeners on their team. Both on and off the ball. Both Bam and Giannis, especially Giannis, have thrived on those inverted P&Rs when the guy screening for them is a shooter. Klays been doing that stuff his entire career. I think he’ll be flying all over the court creating havoc. I think he’s a even better fit than he’s been given credit”
You definitely don’t need to convince me. I agree 100% that he is the right fit on the right team. I look really forward to watching the dynamic of this very interesting starting lineup.
true but hes no threat to drive it so why leave him from the 3 pt line if your guarding him.hes the bahamian unc with more d
When he does things like screen for Giannis it creates an impossible choice for the defense, havoc is a good word. Defenders will be constantly stressed out trying to locate him, and that will give more space for the frontcourt to create on ball. As Spo said if Klay goes to the parking lot a defender goes with him. In the summer runs now when no one is going full speed his defender is still within an arms length away. The need for the defense to face guard and not be able to help off at all is what makes him so valuable to a teams offense.
I originally felt the same about DD over Klay, but I can see why the Heat targeted the man they chose. And, the team friendly contract, which may have been what allowed us to acquire Richard’s, makes me feel even better about how things transpired. I’m actually grateful as hell we got the players we got this offseason. Get ready for some highly competitive excitement this fall.
agree 30 if u cant be with the one u love love the one your with
We’ll just have to Carry On.
our heat house is a very very nice house
Okay, it’s just Europe yadda yadda yadda, but Pelle scored 31 points. Granted, only 2-7 on 3s, but still.
Wow, pelle looking good, he will definitely be better, his 3 ball not consistent yet, but will be impactful In other ways. I hope jovic gets better too hopefully.
I think with the signing of Nick Richards, the threshold to trade Jovic is now lower if the opportunity arises. Heat sometimes used him as a big in the paint. In my opinion, I think the Heat were reluctant to trade him with Ware and Jaime gone but not anymore. Jovic has some sparks of bright spots here and there but his spate of injuries limits his progress at his early age.I don’t know how long Heat’s patience with him will last just like with Dru Smith.
I don’t think they was reluctant to trade jovic, I just think the bucks didn’t want him, especially with the injuries like you said never played over 50 games, and 3pt shot falling off the cliff didn’t help either. Right now his contract looks terrible, so he has to play better, and show improvement. If he does then won’t have to attach a pick just to trade him away, but this is his last year to prove something to the heat brass, and same for dru Smith. Got tre waiting in wings and to a lesser extent young, if dru can’t get his 3 ball to at least 33-34 percent.
tre face of dc hes gonna be a general for life
Miami has reportedly tried to include Jovic in proposed trades but other teams are hesitant to gamble on his ability to live up to his 4 year $62.4M contract. The Heat is in the position of either trying to make a marketable SF or PF out of him, having him sit on the bench for one or more years at full pay, or buying him out.
If Miami gives him until the trade deadline or the end of the 2026-2027 season to produce at the level he is being paid, the team’s course should be apparent. If he performs satisfactorily, he can be retained or traded.
no room for jovic,maybe on denvers bench
Still on the roster
his mentor will bring the best out of him rc but at 16 mil there not buying
As I’ve mentioned, I really don’t know. Ball is literally in his court now.
has he ever showed flashes of consistent good play no.when jjj arrived he was awesome than fell off the planet for unknwn reason then rebounded.i wish i could say jovic will be better but give me a reason u think he will improve.some guys are good in college not in pros.some guys good in minors not majors.some guy is good in europe just cant play in nba ,its a brothers thing rc.pelle has the athleticism to compete with the bros.if jovic can bury some js he can somewhat surive here. thats his only chance here to become a 3pt specialist
I’ve given you my position on this only about 1 million times. I’m not gonna waste my time doing it again. I said I don’t know. That means I don’t know. You don’t know either, you’re just assuming, and that is fair based on the lack of any accomplishment by him so far. We will see soon enough.
not sure he gets pt rc.dont see him playing much.unless they force feed jovic on us.like theyve done before
LOL! He surely isn’t getting any playing time for the next 5 weeks or so. He will definitely be playing in preseason. Coaches and fans of all types will be better able to assess his progress, if any, at that time.
I read Heat looking into a trade with Dallas for Kyrie for Larsson, Jovic and two picks.
dam im gonna sleep better tonight thinking of that deal.kyrie on a diff timelime than flagg.just the name kyrie irving on the heat gets my toes tingling.to compete and beat nyk 76ers kyrie might be needed.
I definitely hope they do not do that deal. Too much to give up for a guy who hasn’t played in a year and a half. We don’t know how far his skills have diminished. We would need a better deal than that and I don’t know how they’d fit that $39+m. It failed the trade machine test.
his handle will never diminish thats 4 sure
I probably would. It would be an all in move.
Without seeing him on the court and working out full speed, I would hesitate. I’d look at Jrue if they want to go all in.
If that happened, and it’s highly unlikely, but if it happened, we’d all be meeting somewhere on Brickell Ave. in the late Spring. We’d win it all, just like the Panthers are going to.
In 40 minutes, Against Finland with Markannen, so that wasn’t a walk in the park.
The godfather strikes again, Not bad for a 1st year team around giannis. We have a solid 9 man rotation now, with depth behind that, and nick is smack dab in his prime. The only thing we’re missing is a good backup pg, but I think dru will hold his own, might even get better, and davion will be better. This the best off-season we had in long time, and pat Riley still got juice left in the tank, not too shabby from a 81 year old.
Yes sir!
I admit, not too shabby. Pretty, pretty, pretty good!
The Richards deal is similar to last season’s Precious deal in that it is only guaranteed if he is on the roster on opening day. That gives the Heat flexibility in case a better player shakes loose between now and opening day.
if precious on roster add 3 – 5 wins imo
You mean last season?
yes rc sorry last season
Not sure how you quantify that. An assumption, not a fact. Maybe.
I’m a person who thinks the game has passed
Pat by a bit. But he’s done a pretty good job of filling out the roster around Giannis.
I liked the idea of building through youth, but when you add the best player on the market and add Klay, Portis, Hardaway, Conwell, Richards, that imo indicates Riley is still pretty savvy and deserves fair credit.
He does. I’m really pleased with how he completed the roster. We really do have a chance now.
youths for the most part ability unknown until 3 years .all the guys we got we know their level