If you're the Phoenix Suns, why would you care about the Boston Celtics? The short answer is you don't but there's more to it than that.
The trade deadline looms on the horizon, and the Suns have the chance to flip some of their fringe players for picks or assets that can be used to make their roster better.
Nick Richards would be perfect Celtics backup.
In the Suns' most impressive win of the season to date over the Minnesota Timberwolves, head coach Jordan Ott actually revealed his postseason rotation.
What was telling about that was the fact that center Nick Richards received a DNP. With starter Mark Williams in this kind of form, it is hard to see any other bigs getting minutes right now.
Over in the East, in the Celtics' most recent game, a win over the Toronto Raptors, they used 10 guys and only one true center in Neemias Queta.
Neemias Queta over his last 5 games:
— CelticsMuse (@CelticsMuse) December 8, 2025
(34 MIN) — 11 PTS, 11 REB, 2 BLK, 4/7 FG
(26 MIN) — 10 PTS, 6 REB, 2 STL, 5/8 FG
(21 MIN) — 17 PTS, 4 BLK, 7/9 FG
(21 MIN) — 8 PTS, 6 REB, 4/4 FG
(29 MIN) — 19 PTS, 18 REB, 2 BLK, 7/8 FG pic.twitter.com/V0amf9LGsP
Their own backup in Luka Garza received a DNP of his own, and on the season is playing just over 13 minutes each night. He can shoot, but defending is not his strong point.
Which is why it makes all the sense for the Celtics to take on Richards, and all it would cost them is a pair of second round picks. Heck they could probably negotiate that down to a single one.
The Celtics also have Sam Hauser and Josh Minott in their rotation, but much like Oso Ighodaro out in The Valley, they operate better as forwards.
Another similarity between both the Suns and Celtics at this point in the season is that both could actually make the playoffs. The key difference being, Boston still has Jayson Tatum to bring back.
If they think he's going to be playing again by the spring, then bringing in an affordable big making $5 million this season and hitting the open market next summer is as safe a bet as you can get.
We all saw the impact Richards has when he arrived over from the Charlotte Hornets at the deadline last season, we have just all accepted that he is better suited to being a backup.
Which is what he would be in Boston behind one of the most underrated bigs in the league in Queta. The Suns' front office have done an excellent job of building around the fringes of this roster.
Flipping Richards into a pick or two down the road is the next smart move to make, as they plot their own course to the postseason. One in which Richards clearly doesn't figure.