Suns are about to learn a Nick Richards lesson Hornets fans know well

The Phoenix Suns made two big moves this offseason to improve their center position, drafting South Sudanese prospect Khaman Maluach and trading for Mark Williams. The deal to land the 23-year-old center from the Charlotte Hornets could ultimately set the franchise back in their efforts to re-tool this summer, as Williams is extension eligible and frequently injured.

Then there is Nick Richards, who in the space of several months has gone from the starting big in Phoenix for nearly half a season, to the third choice in The Valley. Not that trading him is the right move either, Williams has that aforementioned injury history while Maluach is as raw as they come at 18-years-old. There's a logic to keeping Richards around, for now at least.

Fans will realize if Richards stays just how limited he is.

Although keeping Richards as insurance does make sense, that doesn't mean it would be pretty. Despite being all energy and effort upon arrival to Phoenix from the Hornets, it was a low bar to clear in order to look like he was helping. Jusuf Nurkic had been dreadful leading up to the trade, and the Suns really didn't have anybody else who could play big minutes and produce.

Rookie Oso Ighodaro did his best, but he was still adjusting to life in the league. So while fans immediately embraced the heart of the 27-year-old on the court, the numbers tell a more painful story. Despite being a lot more athletic than Nurkic - which wouldn't be hard - and feeding off the scraps left offensively by his superstar teammates, Richards didn't do a ton defensively.

It says it all that the Suns allowed 117.7 points per possession - the fourth worst mark in the league - in 2024-25, yet when Richards joined that number somehow blew all the way up to 123.8 points. To make matters worse, previous head coach Frank Vogel had somehow cobbled together a league average rating when Nurkic was instead in that position.

That's bad enough to want Richards gone from The Valley, but it gets worse. He's not a threat from deep as he doesn't shoot from there, while his midrange game leaves a lot to be desired. Richards does excel at finishing around the rim, but he's not even as effective at that as his teammate Williams. Which partly explains the net rating of minus 9.0 he had after coming to Phoenix.

Richards isn't strong enough to handle the bigger centers, and he's not quick enough to stick with the ones who can put the ball on the floor some. So what the Suns are left with is a guy who is ok at a lot of things, but in truth doesn't excel anywhere and if anything is a negative in too many of the areas that decide whether or not the team can win games.

With a change in expectations this season, perhaps Richards can improve. It would be great if his trade value then did as well so that he could be moved on for something, or if both Williams and Maluach could make him surplus to requirements. But until that happens, he is going to remind Suns fans just how desperate the front office was to trade for him in the first place.