Jason Richardson: A Mentor Role With The Hawks
By John Buhler
Jason Richardson will sign a veteran minimum contract worth $1.45 Million and a tryout with the Atlanta Hawks. Richardson, a 14-year NBA veteran, might find a role with the Atlanta club as mentor for some of the team’s new young players.
The former 5th overall pick by the Golden State Warriors back in 2001, Jason Richardson scored 14,664 career points in his fourteen seasons split between five organizations. After missing the entire 2013-14 season due to a knee injury, Richardson bounced back last year to average 9.1 PPG for the lowly Philadelphia 76ers in 19 games of NBA action (15 starts).
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It seems as though the best years of the longtime NBA shooting guard’s career are far behind him. However, I do see Jason Richardson filling a void left on the Atlanta Hawks roster by PF/C Elton Brand‘s retirement: the seasoned veteran player/coach role.
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Richardson assumed this role with the rebuilding 76ers in parts of the last three seasons. He was able to teach young players how to play like professionals even in a lose-lose scenario. Atlanta kept much of its 2014-15 roster intact but still brings over a handful of young players to help out on the wing.
Players like Justin Holiday, Terran Petteway and especially Tim Hardaway can benefit from picking the brain of a player like Jason Richardson. Even in a tough scenario in Philadelphia, the Sixers played hard for their Head Coach Brett Brown. I believe that Richardson’s professionalism was a major reason for that. Hopefully he can bring that to Atlanta and then some in 2015-16.
Even guys firmly in HC Mike Budenholzer’s rotation like Dennis Schroder, Kent Bazemore, and Shelvin Mack can learn from Richardson’s 14 seasons of NBA experience. Schroder, Bazemore, and Mack combine to only have 9 NBA seasons between them.
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In addition to being a career 37% 3-point shooter who can still catch and shoot out on the perimeter, I can see Richardson helping this year’s Atlanta Hawks’ team stay hungry and most importantly, stay humble after last year’s triumphant success. It should help all parties involved make another deep run in the postseason, something that has evaded Jason Richardson for most of his career (4 trips to the postseason, 37 career playoff games in 14 NBA seasons).
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Even if Jason Richardson doesn’t end up making the 2015-16 Atlanta Hawks’ 15-man roster, I still feel that the young players in the Atlanta back court will improve by having a veteran competing with them in training camp. If Jason Richardson cans stay healthy, then perhaps he becomes the Atlanta Hawks’ 12th or 13th man in the rotation, good enough to dress out every game but not necessarily see action in every contest.
Next: Jason Richardson: Hawks Sign Vet to Non-Guaranteed Deal
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