Sixers offseason grades: Josh Richardson trade
- A+
Unfortunately, Josh Richardson didn’t give the Sixers what they needed. He didn’t seem competent as a ball handler and a scorer and he only shot 34.1 percent from deep while scoring three fewer points a game than he did in the 2018-19 season. He did live up to his defensive reputation, but defense isn’t where the Sixers fell short.
On the contrary, Seth Curry is the perfect player for the Sixers. He is one of the best shooters in the league, having shot 45.2 percent from 3-point range on five attempts per game last season. His spacing and off-ball movement will give Ben and Joel the space to score and create, rather than just running into traffic to try and make something out of nothing. Curry does lack defensive prowess, but this will be supplemented by having Simmons and Green, both NBA All-Defensive players, as the other perimeter defenders.
Joel has already said he wants to have an on-court relationship to Curry similar to what he had with J.J. Redick. Joel’s two-man game with Redick seemed to be the last time the Sixers had effective halfcourt actions to go to so Curry’s acquisition is already very encouraging. Curry’s fit with Ben and Joel makes this trade an amazing trade as a shooter like Curry is just what this team needs to succeed.