New Heat Signee Josh Richardson Is The Big Winner Of The Damian Lillard Trade Because He Can Wear 0 Now

The main order of business for the Miami Heat this offseason appeared to be finding a way to acquire Damian Lillard, and on Wednesday afternoon, we learned that would not come to fruition. While Miami was Lillard’s preferred destination at the start of the summer and the Heat wanted to acquire his services, the Milwaukee Bucks were able to swoop in and pull off a monster deal to bring Lillard to the Eastern Conference.

There are now a bunch of questions facing the Heat, as the team has to figure out if it’s worth pivoting and pursuing another high-profile guard — Jrue Holiday, who was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers in the deal, would make a ton of sense for them. But one thing is for sure: One member of the Heat suddenly has a whole lot more certainty, which he tweeted about immediately after news of the trade hit the internet.

You see, Josh Richardson — who joined the team on a 2-year deal in free agency — has not had a number on the team’s roster since joining. Here is a screenshot of his player page next to Duncan Robinson’s, who wears 55.

Richardson has worn 0 for much of his NBA career, including the four seasons he spent as a member of the Heat at the start of his career. Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, that wasn’t given out to any Heat players, and while there is no explicit reason why, it’s not hard to put two and two together with that and their well-documented interest in acquiring Lillard, who wears 0. Etienne Catalan tweeted that Richardson will now wear 0, and we’re still waiting for the Heat to update their website.

Richardson played for the San Antonio Spurs and the New Orleans Pelicans last season. Back in 2015, the Heat selected him with the 40th overall pick in the NBA Draft, and he played for the team for four seasons before getting traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in the deal that sent Jimmy Butler to Miami.