The Boston Celtics have acquired Josh Richardson from the Miami Heat in a three-team trade that also involved the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Cavs will send Tristan Thompson and Jae Crowder to the Heat for Dwyane Wade and Isaiah Thomas.
The Boston Celtics acquire Josh Richardson, trade Tristan Thompson in separate 3-team deal is a trade that was made this year. The Boston Celtics acquired Josh Richardson and traded Tristan Thompson to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
5:57 p.m. Eastern
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ESPN’s Tim Bontemps
The Boston Celtics made two roster changes on Friday, sending center Tristan Thompson to the Atlanta Hawks and bringing back three players from the Dallas Mavericks: guard Kris Dunn and center Bruno Fernando from the Atlanta Hawks and guard Josh Richardson from the Dallas Mavericks.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Thompson ended up with the Sacramento Kings, guard Delon Wright went from Sacramento to Atlanta, while Dunn and Fernando ended up in Boston. According to reports, Boston also got a 2023 second-round pick in the trade.
Later Friday, the Celtics acquired Richardson from the Mavericks, according to sources, by using the rest of the trade exception established by the sign-and-trade deal that sent Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets in November.
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According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Boston currently has 13 players with fully guaranteed contracts for next season, and is around $5 million in guaranteed money below the anticipated luxury tax threshold of $136.6 million for the 2023-22 season.
The Celtics will approach free agency next week with at least one major choice to make: whether or not to re-sign guard Evan Fournier, whom they acquired with the remaining Hayward trade exception in the last hours before the deadline in March. Re-signing Fournier would put the Celtics far into the luxury tax for next season, given their present roster scenario.
After back-to-back dismal seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and Dallas Mavericks, Richardson, who will be 28 in September, is set to play for his fourth club in as many years. Richardson struggled to fit in with the Sixers after being acquired in a sign-and-trade for Jimmy Butler two summers ago. Richardson then scored 12.1 points per game for Dallas after being traded for Seth Curry at the 2023 NBA draft in November, although he equaled a career low by shooting 33 percent from 3-point range.
He also went from starting all but three regular-season games for the Mavericks to coming off the bench for all seven games of the Mavericks’ first-round playoff series defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers, including playing fewer than 10 minutes in each of the series’ last three games.
Richardson, who had a player option for the 2023-22 season, will exercise it as part of this agreement to stay under contract.
The NBA’s free-agent signing period for 2023 will start on August 2, two days after the draft.
• The most up-to-date free agency and trade news and buzz The offseason will be defined by ten questions. The most important choices for all 30 teams • FA rankings by team for 2023 and 2023 Every club has draft assets that may be traded.
Last season, Thompson, 30, averaged 7.6 points and 8.1 rebounds in 54 games for the Celtics, his first time playing anyplace other than Cleveland, where he spent his first nine years in the NBA. Thompson was no longer needed in Boston with the development of third-year center Robert Williams III and the return of center Al Horford as part of the Kemba Walker deal last month.
He’s now on his way to Sacramento, where he’ll provide insurance at center for the Kings, since starter Richaun Holmes is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agency on Monday.
Dunn, 27, appeared in only four games during the regular season due to a variety of injuries, then appeared in five playoff games for a total of 33 minutes during Atlanta’s march to the Eastern Conference finals. If he stays healthy, the former Providence College standout may offer some wing defense for the Celtics.
Fernando, who will be 23 in August, averaged 1.5 points per game for Atlanta in 33 games last season. In the 2019 NBA draft, he was the 34th selection.
In 63 games split between the Detroit Pistons and the Sacramento Kings last season, Wright averaged 10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. The 29-year-old, who is now with his sixth club, adds depth to Atlanta’s backcourt behind Trae Young, where he can either serve as a backup or play with upcoming free agency Lou Williams if the Hawks can re-sign him.
The contracts of all five players involved in both transactions will expire at the conclusion of the 2023-22 season. Richardson is slated to earn $11.6 million next season, while Thompson is set to earn $9.7 million, Wright $8.5 million, Dunn just over $5 million, and Fernando $1.7 million.
The Celtics’ acquisition of Richardson was originally reported by The Athletic.
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