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The Phoenix Suns have acquired center Nick Richards from the Charlotte Hornets, the team announced Wednesday. In exchange, the Hornets have acquired guard Josh Okogie, the Suns’ 2031 second-round pick and the Denver Nuggets‘ 2026 and 2031 second-round picks, per ESPN. Charlotte will also reportedly send the Nuggets’ 2025 second-round pick to Phoenix.
Richards, 27, is averaging 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 21 minutes per game this season. He could immediately step into a starting role for the Suns, who recently moved Jusuf Nurkic to the bench and then took him out of the rotation (and are reportedly trying to trade him).
This trade gives Phoenix something it didn’t have: a physical 7-footer who can gobble up rebounds, be a lob threat and protect the rim. Just eight days ago, the Suns got an up-close look at how effective he can be. In the Hornets’ 115-104 victory against Phoenix, Richards put up 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting (and 7-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line), 12 rebounds (including five on the offensive glass) and three blocks in 25 minutes.
Charlotte dominated the boards in that game, and the Suns were bullied again in that area in their 122-117 loss against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. On the season, Phoenix ranks 27th in offensive rebounding percentage, which isn’t a huge surprise for a Mike Budenholzer-coached team. The bigger issue is that, when Nurkic has been off the floor, its opponents have rebounded 31.7% of their misses. Poor defensive rebounding is difficult to overcome, especially for a team that doesn’t force turnovers and has a midrange-heavy shot profile.
Ideally, the presence of Richards will toughen up the Suns on the interior and give their pick-and-roll game a bit more oomph. He’s not going to pass from the high post the way Mason Plumlee, rookie Oso Ighodaro or Nurkic do, but maybe what Phoenix needed was a better roll man. Richards’ efficiency has dipped this season, but he’s been a good finisher for the vast majority of his five-season career and shot 76% at the rim in 2023-24.
Richards is making $5 million this season, and that same salary will be non-guaranteed next season. If he fits in half as well as, say, Daniel Gafford fit with the Dallas Mavericks last season, that will be a bargain. The question for the Suns now is what comes next. They are 19-20 on the season, they were built to win now and they are over the second apron, meaning they can’t aggregate salaries in trades. Okogie, whom they signed to a contract designed to be traded ($8.3 million this season, $7.8 million non-guaranteed next season), was one of the few pieces the Suns could put in play. Everyone knows Nurkic is available, but does this move mean that one of Plumlee (who signed a one-year minimum last summer) and Ighodaro (who is in Year 1 of a cheapo second-round-exception deal) is expendable? Who’s the best player Phoenix could realistically get for Grayson Allen and its 2031 first-round pick?
Getting Richards for an (effectively) expiring contract and (effectively) two second-rounders is a solid move for a team looking to improve in the second half of the season. If this is all that the Suns do before the Feb. 6 trade deadline, though, then they will likely not have meaningfully raised their ceiling. No one expects Bradley Beal to waive his no-trade clause, but let’s see what else Phoenix can do to balance the roster in the next three weeks.
Okogie, 26, is averaging 6.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 steals in 14 minutes per game. From the Hornets’ perspective, this trade is about the picks, but if he’s part of the rotation going forward, he will immediately be their best point-of-attack defender. He is also an excellent rebounder for a guard.
Fun fact: Okogie played AAU ball with Charlotte forward Grant Williams.
