According to Yahoo NBA writer Marc J. Spears, the Atlanta Hawks have reportedly signed 15-year veteran shooting guard Jason Richardson to a non-guaranteed deal.
Veteran shooting guard Jason Richardson has signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Atlanta Hawks.
— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) August 15, 2015
Richardson, 34, started in 48 games for the Sixers over two seasons, shooting 38.3% from the floor on 514 attempts, and 67.3% from the line.
Drafted fifth overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, Richardson was acquired by the Philadelphia 76ers, along with two-time NBA champion center Andrew Bynum, as a part of a four-team trade on August 10, 2012.
Richardson took the floor in just 33 games over his first season in Philadelphia. He was sidelined most of the year with a knee injury, and he underwent an operation in February 2013 to repair his torn meniscus. Richardson missed the following 2013-2014 season as well, and did not return to game action until February 20 of this past season.
With the Sixers, Richardson served as a veteran presence and team mentor, on and off the court. In an interview on Media Day prior to the 2014-2015 regular season, the two-time dunk contest champion commented the following regarding his team role, despite being injured at the time:
“It’s been challenging, but it’s opened my eyes to a lot of things. Kind of just seeing it as a coach, helping the young guys out last year is fun for me. To study the film, actually break down the film, help the guys out when they were doing something wrong, it just gave me a different perspective of basketball that I’d never seen before.”
An announcement of Richardson's signing with the Hawks is expected to be made on Monday. If the signing is made official, he will reunite with former team color commentator Malik Rose, who joined the franchise on Wednesday to become their manager of basketball operations.
Matt Rappa (@mattrappasports) is a contributor to Sixerdelphia.com.
