Suns address glaring center issue with Nick Richards trade

According to a source, the Phoenix Suns have agreed to send Josh Okogie and three second-round picks to the Charlotte Hornets in a Nick Richards trade that will also land the Suns a 2025 second-round pick from the Denver Nuggets.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro first reported the trade for Nick Richards, while ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the initial details of the deal. Phoenix will send a 2026 second-rounder (via Denver), a 2031 second-rounder via (Denver) and its own 2031 second-rounder to the Hornets, while getting a 2025 second-rounder (via Denver) in return.

PHNX Sports had previously reported the Suns’ interest in the Hornets center and had listed a Nick Richards trade among our hypothetical Suns moves back in December.

The 27-year-old Richards is averaging 8.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 21.0 minutes per game this season, shooting 56.1 percent from the field. He’s started in nine of his 21 appearances for Charlotte, filling in for the injured Mark Williams at times, and is coming off a career year in 2023-24, when he put up 9.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks a night on 69.1 percent shooting in a starting role.

Williams’ return to health relegated him back to bench duty, but Richards showed how effective he could be in a recent matchup with the Suns, where he put up 15 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks on 4-of-6 shooting off the bench.

A quick look at the Nick Richards trade

According to a source, the Suns value Nick Richards for his athleticism, defense, rebounding and rim-rolling, as well as his size at 7-feet and the fact that he’s under contract for next season as well. Richards is a bit more limited on the offensive end, but Phoenix won’t need much out of him on that end other than sturdy screens, rim-running and the lob threat he can provide.

At $5 million this season (plus another $5 million next year, which is fully non-guaranteed), the Suns took the first step in addressing a center spot that’s been one of their biggest weaknesses all season.

Duop Reath was another name that’s come up recently, but Richards is a bigger, better player who will address Phoenix’s pressing needs in a more evident and urgent fashion. Over the last nine contests — where Jusuf Nurkic only played in two games off the bench due to a suspension or getting benched outright — Phoenix has gotten absolutely creamed by their opponents on the offensive glass:

• Atlanta Hawks (Jan. 14): 20 offensive rebounds for 27 second chance points
• Charlotte Hornets (Jan. 12): 15 offensive rebounds for 26 second chance points
• Utah Jazz (Jan. 11): 21 offensive rebounds for 19 second chance points
• Hawks (Jan. 9): 8 offensive rebounds for 10 second chance points
• Hornets (Jan. 7): 20 offensive rebounds for 19 second chance points
• Philadelphia 76ers (Jan. 6): 12 offensive rebounds for 12 second chance points
• Indiana Pacers (Jan. 4): 13 offensive rebounds for 17 second chance points
• Memphis Grizzlies (Dec. 31): 16 offensive rebounds for 20 second chance points
• Golden State Warriors (Dec. 28): 18 offensive rebounds for 12 second chance points

Richards won’t solve all of the Suns’ problems, but he’ll certainly move the needle at the 5-spot. Giving up three second-rounders and Okogie — one of the team’s most intense competitors and a well-liked guy in the locker room due to his sense of humor — seems like a sizable amount for a backup on an eight-win Hornets team, but at least the Suns are getting back into the draft a year earlier, exchanging their 2026 Denver second-rounder for Denver’s second-rounder in 2025.

In terms of future tradable draft assets, all the Suns have left is the incoming 2025 second-rounder from Denver, as well as Phoenix’s own 2031 first-rounder. They will have a first-round pick of some sort in 2026, 2028 and 2030, though they don’t control those picks due to pick swap rights.

When the Suns re-signed Okogie last summer, his contract amount was designed to give Phoenix additional flexibility to be able to swing a trade like this. Now it remains to be seen how this Nick Richards trade helps a team that is below .500, how he’s able to perform in a starting role on a team with playoff aspirations, and how Phoenix responds to having a more serviceable center in the rotation.