For the Golden State Warriors, who remain firmly outside of what many would consider genuine championship contention over a quarter of the way into the season, the play of second-round draft pick Will Richard, who has taken on a starting role for the team as of late, has been a serious silver lining.
Yet, as his offensive production remains relatively slow, a serious question arises for the organization. In what is likely the second-to-last season of Stephen Curry’s career, do they want to depend on the 59th overall pick to be a bona-fide starter for them?
Richard has, by all means, exceeded expectations. Yet, it has slowly become clear that the Warriors must make a trade that allows Richard to step into a role for which he is better-suited if they want to make a serious title run this season.
Will Richard, unfortunately, is not the answer for the Warriors’ offensive woes
Out of the many issues that Golden State has encountered this season, by far the most serious has been their lack of consistent offensive production. Through their first 24 games, they are 24th in the NBA in offensive rating, placing them in the territory of teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans.
It goes without saying that this is not the performance of a championship-caliber team.
It’s also pretty clear that the problem has not been Richard. He’s already made more impact this season than most second-round picks would in their first couple years in the league, and he’s averaged 7.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 38.2% from beyond the arc.
His role is to space the floor and to play staunch point-of-attack defense, and, so far this season, he’s done so excellently.
Yet, his recent string of sub-par offensive performances (he’s scored 14 points combined and taken only 11 shots over his last three games) begs the question. Is Richard the player the Warriors want in the starting lineup for the remainder of the season?
With the De’Anthony Melton’s injury history, and the inconsistent and unreliable play of Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield, it seems as though Richard is their best option, and that is exactly the problem.
Next to Curry and Jimmy Butler, Golden State truly has no one they can turn to reliably to help them keep their offense afloat, and, if they continue to float around a .500 record, they must be seriously aggressive on the trade market to acquire a player who can fit alongside their stars in that manner.
That is not Richard, nor should it be.