The Los Angeles Lakers have Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, and Kevon Looney who could all log minutes at the five, but earlier summer reports suggested they did not believe that was enough. If they were still hunting for frontcourt help, the easiest solution just got taken off the board.
Shams Charania reported Nick Richards is signing a one-year deal to join the Miami Heat. This development should come as a surprise to absolutely no one. Marc Stein suggested this was in the works. Miami needed the depth and they secured the best remaining unrestricted free agent.
This is clearly a case of the Lakers just not being all too interested. If they truly wanted to zero in on Richards as a backup, they could have done it at any point in the summer. The workable solution was available to them for a prolonged period of time.
It is understandable why the Lakers did not toss him a contract. Richards certainly has his flaws. Even so, as far as backup big men go, they could have done worse. It is worth pondering whether Los Angeles will circle back to this doable move and regret letting it pass by.
Nick Richards' polarizing game created a tough call for the Lakers
What was the upside of adding Richards? That much is simple to pinpoint.
The 28-year-old is the type of aerial threat that could have paired well with Luka Doncic. A pick-and-roll with those two could have delivered a good deal of easy offense for the Lakers. Richards is also solid on the glass.
The main problem with his game comes on the defensive end. He can get lost on the back end, and offers lackluster value as the man in the middle on that side of the court. The overall defense provided by Richards leaves a lot to be desired.
It is important to remember this is a backup we are talking about. Flaws are inevitable. If Richards was some sort of game-changing talent, he would have long been off the board by now.
On top of the natural limitations to his game, looking to the Laker's roster situation also provides ample reason for why they may not have been motivated to do this move. Bringing in Richards would have brought them up to 17 players, creating the need to shake two guys loose via trade or release.
Given his drawbacks, the front office may have just thought his move was not worth the trouble. That is a fair takeaway for a backup option, even if they are still searching for more reinforcements in the frontcourt.
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