Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Richardson gets extension
Guard’s deal is for four years, $42M beginning in ’18-19
The Miami Heat have made their commitment to Josh Richardson clear, with an agreement on a four-year, $42 million extension for the guard that will kick in starting in 2018-19.
Richardson, a 2015 secondround pick who has become a staple of the Heat’s backcourt in the transition from the franchise’s Big Three era, became eligible for the extension last month, with the agreement coming less than two weeks before the Heat open training camp.
A party familiar with the negotiations Wednesday told the Sun Sentinel the framework of the deal had been “on the table for a while.”
The extension is the maximum the Heat were able to offer Richtransaction ardson, who turns 23 Friday, based on his tenure and contract status. The parties had until June 30 to reach an agreement, with Richardson otherwise becoming a free agent during the 2018 offseason.
The move is the latest long-term by the Heat, who previously moved over future salary caps with this summer’s freeagency signings of Dion Waiters, James Johnson and Kelly Olynyk.
The agreement with Richardson could have the Heat flirting with the luxury tax going forward.
Richardson will remain under his rookie contract this coming season, at $1.5 million, before entering the new deal that runs through 2021-22, which is a playeroption year.
With the agreement, the Heat now have 10 players locked into contracts through at least 2018-19: Richardson, Waiters, Olynyk, James Johnson, Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Rodney McGruder, A.J. Hammons and Tyler Johnson.
The Heat next have a decision on the $3.5 million 2018-19 option year on the rookie-scale contract of 2015 first-round pick Justise Winslow, a decision that must be made by the Oct. 18 regular-season opener against the Orlando Magic.
Heat president Pat Riley in July cited Richardson as part of the Heat’s longrange view, along with Whiteside, Winslow and Tyler Johnson.
“Give me four guys their age in the league, and let’s play a four-on-four game and I think we’d have a pretty competitive four,” he said.
Retaining talent has been a priority for the Heat, who owe 2018 and ’21 first-round picks to the Phoenix Suns to complete the 2015 acquisition of Dragic. The Heat also have traded each of their second-round picks through the 2021 draft. Richardson was the No. 40 pick in 2015 out of Tennessee.
Richardson’s contract extension will start at $9.3 million in 2018-19, which would put him seventh on the Heat’s 2018-19 payroll, behind Whiteside ($25.4 million), Tyler Johnson ($19.2 million), Dragic ($18.1 million), James Johnson ($14.7 million), Waiters ($11.6 million) and Olynyk ($11.1 million).
A day before word of his extension became public, Richardson posted on Twitter, “Make 10 spent 2 save 8.” He then thanked Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris who congratulated him on Twitter about his extension.
Richardson is expected to compete for the Heat’s starting role at small forward, which was seized last season by McGruder in the wake of injuries to Richardson and Winslow. Richardson also is an option at point guard, where the Heat remain thin behind Dragic.
The Heat have 18 players under contract for training camp, which opens Sept. 26. Teams must cut to a maximum of 15 by the start of the regular season.
The agreement with Richardson does not impact the Heat’s $4.3 million salary-cap exception, the lone remaining means for the team to add a free agent beyond a minimum salary.
Richardson was limited to 53 games last season by a series of injuries, including a knee issue that kept him out of training camp and the first four games of the regular season. He then missed 19 games at midseason with a sprained left foot, after previously missing six with a sprained right ankle. He closed last season as the Heat’s starting shooting guard in the injury absence of Waiters, starting 34 games overall.
Despite the missed time, Richardson converted a career-best 75 3-pointers last season, leading the Heat in assists in 10 games. He averaged 10.2 points, 2.6 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 2016-17.