It was a reunion last season for star Josh Richardson and the Miami Heat that had to unfortunately be cut short as he suffered from a season-ending shoulder injury on Feb. 11 against the Boston Celtics. Having originally played for the Heat for his first four seasons in the NBA, he came back on a two-year minimum deal in 2023 after shuffling through multiple teams, but he is now preparing for a bounce back season.
Just recently, Richardson had the choice to opt out of his contract due to a player option, but decided to accept the $3 million and stay with the Heat. Having played 43 games last season in his first year back in Miami after four seasons away, he believes there is “some unfinished business” according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“I think that there’s kind of some unfinished business from last year for myself,” Richardson said. “Being able to see how long that form lasts that I was finding.”
Heat star talks about recovering from season-ending shoulder injury
In terms of a timeline in recovering from his shoulder injury, he started shooting the basketball July 2 “for the first time” since the issue happened in February. He said that he has “never gone through anything this serious” as Richardson was in Las Vegas to watch the Heat Summer League team and work out with trainers and coaches via The Miami Herald.
“I’ve never gone through anything this serious,” Richardson said. “So it sucks to have to sit down for four months and not be able to do a whole lot. But it’s baby steps, trying to pace myself and not to get too ahead of myself or down. Because I can’t wake up one day and be able to do everything again. But I’m excited to be on the road back.”
As Miami fans will ask about a time table, there is not one at the current moment where the goal for the 30-year old shooting guard and the team is that he is ready to go by training camp which starts up in October. Still, that is up in the air as they would rather not want to rush the injury back as they can at least have Richardson for most of the preseason and eventually the start of the upcoming season.
“I’ve had three days on the court now,” Richardson said of his workouts to get back on track for the upcoming Heat season. “I’m shooting like midranges. That’s the farthest I can shoot. I’m shooting little floaters here and there, but I can’t shoot threes yet. But it’s good for me because I can kind of break my shot down and work it back up from the bones.”
Richardson talks about his play and Heat's potential
Last season, he averaged 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from beyond the arch. It was more unfortunate how Richardson was gaining more confidence up until the injury as in the last six games before Feb. 11, he was averaging just over 13 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and two assists per game. This was while shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep, including a 24-point performance in the win against the Sacramento Kings on Jan. 31.
“I feel like every year when I play here, even the first time, I start playing my best basketball the back half of the season,” Richardson said. “I feel like that was just what was happening and it’s unfortunate that it got cut short like that.”
Richardson was a staple to Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra's rotation as the two have the obvious familiarity as said before when he was drafted with the 40th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft coming out of the University of Tennessee. He was also just a fragment of the injuries Miami suffered from last season where players such as Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, Tyler Herro, and others missed a significant amount of time, halting the “potential” that Richardson believes they have.
“It sucks because you know the potential that we had,” Richardson said. “We were like, what, three games out of the No. 4 seed? I mean, it’s like down the stretch when your rotation guys and best player gets hurt, it’s like what could have been.”
Richardson gets candid on contract situation with the Heat
Richardson has been a constant contributor to every team he has played on which is why it could be surprising to some and himself that he is on a minimum contract to begin with. The Tennessee product would be candid in talking about his contract situation where he admitted that during the 2023 offseason where he decided to come back to the Heat, there was “offers” for more money.
“Nobody wants to play on a minimum, to be honest,” Richardson said. “But yeah, I had offers when I came back for more. But it’s kind of the crib. So it’s one of those things that you’re kind of like, what’s important?”
Now, Richardson has this season to prepare for to hopefully get fully healthy and have the most productive season in years so he can possibly get a bigger contract.
“Hopefully this season I can find that form for longer and play like I know I can play and make them pay me,” Richardson said apparently with a smile via Chiang of The Miami Herald.
At any rate, Richardson looks to help the Heat improve after finishing at the eighth seed for the second straight season as they had a 46-36 record. They would eventually be eliminated by the Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs as the team is currently in Summer League play.
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