The Phoenix Suns added height to the lineup on Jan. 15 with the addition of center Nick Richards as part of a two-player trade with the Charlotte Hornets that also involved draft picks.
Richards gives the Suns (19–20) a fourth 7-footer, which will bolster the team around the basket, especially in the rebound department for a team that’s 25th in the league in rebounds per game. The Suns, who also received a future second-round pick, sent guard Josh Okogie and three future second-round picks to the Hornets (9–28).
Richards, 7-foot-0, has averaged a double double this season for the Hornets with 11.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He’s also a solid shot blocker with 1.7 blocks per contest.
Suns center Jusuf Nurkic, 7-foot-0, had been the main big man this season with 8.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in 23 starts before head coach Mike Budenholzer benched him last week. In addition, Nurkic hasn’t played a full season his entire 12-year career, and already had an ankle injury in November.
“He’s a pro, so he’s gotta be ready,” Budenholzer told the media on Jan. 11. “Everybody’s earning their minutes.”
Phoenix also has two backup 7-foot centers in rookie Oso Ighodaro, 7-foot-0, and Bol Bol, 7-foot-3, but neither play major minutes. Richards averaged 21 minutes per game with the Hornets.
Ighodaro plays 16.8 minutes per game, which includes just two starts in 32 games played. He averages 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Bol has played 6.1 minutes per game thus far in eight game appearances with 3.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest. The sixth-year veteran from Oregon has played in 43 or fewer games every season except 2022-2023, when he played 70 games with the Orlando Magic.
Phoenix also has a 6-foot-10 center in Mason Plumlee, who took minutes over Nurkic last week. Plumlee averages four points and 6.4 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game.
Besides Nurkic and Plumlee, only forwards Kevin Durant and Royce O’Neale average more than five rebounds per game. After that, no one averages more than 3.8 boards per game other than guard Devin Booker.
Phoenix came into the season with big expectations because of recent success and stars such as Booker and Durant. The Suns have won 45 or more games in each of the past four seasons, but this year’s squad is already hovering around the loss total for two of those seasons.
Charlotte can build for the future with Okogie and the three second-round picks. Okogie averaged six points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 25 games and one start with the Suns.
While Okogie played 14 minutes per game, the Suns have the backcourt depth to fill the void. Besides Booker, guards Bradley Beal and Tyus Jones both log more than 30 minutes per game. Grayson Allen plays 23.9 minutes per game, and he’s provided a spark off the bench with 10.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.
Before the trade, Phoenix got a couple of looks at Richards earlier this season in two games against the Hornets. The first time on Jan. 7, Richards put up 15 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocked shots in a 115–104 win over the Suns. He had a quieter game on Sunday with four points and five rebounds in 18 minutes during a 120–113 win by the Suns.
Richards had a three-year, $15 million deal with the Hornets, and the Suns will take a salary cap hit of $5 million this season and next with the trade. Okogie had a two-year, $16 million contract with the Suns, and the Hornets will take an $8.25 million cap hit this season and a $7.75 million cap hit the following season.
