The Phoenix Suns made the most logical trade that they could ahead of the deadine, striking a deal with the Charlotte Hornets to acquire center Nick Richards. A move that obviously deserves a high grade, and which makes this team better.
About the only negative here was the fact the Suns couldn't convince the Hornets to also take Jusuf Nurkic off their hands - adding Cody Martin themselves in the process - although that was apparently not for the want of trying. Nurkic's time in Phoenix is over, although it doesn't look like any other organization is interested in taking him unless some serious draft capital is attached.
The role of Richards will take time to evolve with the Suns too.
As much as he is a clear upgrade of Nurkic, we have to remember that he was the backup center in Charlotte. Starter Mark Williams had a great game against the Suns at the Footprint Center recently - he was much more impactful than Richards - but there was no way that Phoenix was ever going to be able to land him. He is part of the future for the Hornets.
Back to Richards though and he can excel as the backup big against all manner of opponents, and that is how it may go for him with the Suns, at least initially. He has only started 74 games across his entire career, which is one less than Nurkic managed for the Suns last season alone. He has also never appeared in the playoffs.
Nick Richards won't save the Suns by himself, but the rim-running and lob threat that he provides in the PNR should help open up the offense. Plus, we haven't had too many jaw-dropping highlights like this in a while! pic.twitter.com/81BQ3weCpb
— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) January 18, 2025
Which is exactly where the franchise hopes to go, and why Richards is going to come off the bench for the Suns to begin with. Head coach Mike Budenholzer will likely play this the same way he has Mason Plumlee and Oso Ighodaro though. Since Nurkic has been out of the rotation entirely, the veteran Plumlee has started every game.
Ighodaro has played more minutes in each of those contests though, with his rim-running and athleticism on another level to Plumlee entirely. This isn't a move designed to keep Plumlee happy either - he joined thinking he would be backing up Nurkic all season - but it ensures that his veteran saavy next to the starters allows the group to settle into games.
Contrast that with rookie Ighodaro who - while incredibly willing - is still only a youngster. At 27-years-old Richards is hardly that, but you should still expect him to be the first big off the bench, replacing Plumlee. He is also likely to play more minutes though, with the hope being he quite quickly replaces Plumlee in the starting lineup.
This could take some time though, as the franchise have pinned a lot of their hopes for improvement on what Richards can bring. Which is without doubt more than Nurkic did - especially defensively - but there's a reason he only cost Josh Okogie and a couple of seconds.
Another massive plus to adding him to the rotation is the pressure it will take off Ighodaro, and how playing him less minutes could actually increase his impact each night. The best case scenario here is that Richards quickly takes the starting spot from Plumlee, but either way he's still going to play more minutes each game no matter what.