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

The Phoenix Suns made two major movements this season to improve their center position, the preparation of South Nudanese prospect Kaman Maluach and trade for Mark Williams. The deal to land the 23-year-old center of the Charlotte Hornets could eventually put the franchise back in their efforts to play again this summer, because Williams is eligible and is often injured.

Then there is Nick Richards, who went into the Big in Phoenix for almost half a season for a few months, to the third choice in the valley. Not that the actions of him are also the right step, Williams has that previously mentioned injury history, while Maluach is as raw as they come at the age of 18. There is a logic to keep Richards in the area, at least for the time being.

Fans will realize whether Richards remains how limited he is.

Although Richards is useful as insurance, this does not mean that it would be beautiful. Although it was all the energy and effort on arrival to Phoenix from the Hornets, it was a low bar to erase to look as if he helped. Jusuf Nurkic had been terribly in the run -up to the profession and the Suns really had no one else who could play and produce big minutes.

Rookie Oso Iighodaro did his best, but he still fitted in with life in the competition. So while fans immediately embraced the heart of the 27-year-old on the field, the figures tell a more painful story. Although he was much more athletic than Nurkic – which would not be difficult – and the attacks of the leftovers that his superstar teammates have left offensive, Richards did not make it defensively.

It all says that the Suns allowed 117.7 points per possession – the fourth worst figure in the competition – in 2024-25, but when Richards participated in that number, somehow blew all the way to 123.8 points. To make matters worse, previous head coach Frank Vogel somehow had a competition average rating together when Nurkic was in that position instead.

That is bad enough to make Richards disappear from the valley, but it gets worse. He is not a threat of deep because he does not shoot from there, while his midrange game leaves much to be desired. Richards excels in the end around the edge, but he is not even as effective in it as his teammate Williams. That partly explains the net rating of minus 9.0 he had after he came to Phoenix.

Richards is not strong enough to handle the larger centers, and he is not fast enough to hold on to those who can put the ball on the floor. So what the Suns remain is a man who is fine in many things, but in reality nowhere and if there is something negative in too many of the areas that decide whether the team can win games.

With a change in expectations this season, Richards might improve. It would be great if his commercial value would do so that he could be moved for something, or if both Williams and Maluach could make him excess to the requirements. But until that happens, he will remind Suns fans how desperate the front office was to exchange for him in the first place.