Josh Richardson for Jimmy Butler no longer makes any sense for Miami Heat

It’s not longer on the table...at least in my mind that is. The Jimmy Butler trade talk has been silenced recently. But at one point, the Miami Heat and Pat Riley may have had Josh Richardson as a part of a trade package to acquire Jimmy Butler.

But that was before the season started. Now, Richardson has blossomed into a Most Improved Player candidate. He’s averaging 21.4 PPG and he’s 25 years old. He has the time, the drive and the skill to blossom into something like Jimmy Butler, and the Heat have him locked up for 4 years at a great deal.

Is Jimmy Butler better than Josh Richardson right now? Of course he is. Jimmy is a great talent and he’s polished. Richardson isn’t there yet, and he still has some off nights, but the potential is there.

If the Heat want Jimmy Butler, they have to be patient enough to find a deal that doesn’t include Josh Richardson. That doesn’t mean Richardson isn’t trade-able...he is, just not for Jimmy Butler.

Richardson has scored 27+ points in three of the last four games, and he’s getting better. And you can see that from his field goal percentage. He struggled out of the gate and forced a lot, but now he’s hitting at much higher clip—with his last two games above 52% from the field. That’s great for a player that shoots from distance and mid range as much as he does.

So, for now, Richardson cannot be included in any package for Jimmy Butler. It just doesn’t make sense.