The past four years have not gone very well for Jason Richardson as he has had to sit out one full year and miss 140 games out of a possible 246 in the three seasons he did play. Richardson was with the Philadelphia 76ers the last three years and was never able to stay healthy for them even though he was reportedly a huge help as a veteran presence. Richardson could easily call it quits as he's been through a lot recently but he apparently wants to keep playing as he has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Atlanta Hawks, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
Windhorst reports that the deal is for one year and the veteran's minimum of $1.45 million but the deal is non-guaranteed so he is going to have to earn his way onto the roster. Richardson suffered a very serious knee injury in January of 2013 and wasn't able to come back until the end of last season. Richardson is now 34 years old and still wants to give it another go.
Richardson is the 17th player on the Hawks roster but there are a few others that are also on non-guaranteed contracts including Terran Petteway and Lamar Patterson so if he can prove he is healthy he has a legitimate shot to make the team. The Hawks depth chart at shooting guard is a little muddled right now as they are unsure if they will have Thabo Sefolosha or Kyle Korver back for the start of the season. If Richardson has a good training camp he may be able to work his way into some minutes early on in the season as those two recover.
Richardson is a career 37 percent shooter form three point land so at the very least he should be able to provide perimeter shooting for Atlanta. In his 14 seasons in the league Richardson has career averages of 17.1 points and 5 rebounds per game while making 44 percent of his career field goal attempts. Richardson used to be a high flyer and one of the most athletic players in the game, he is no longer that but he is a veteran who can still shoot and may be able to provide something for a Hawks team looking to maintain their success from a year ago. This is a no risk signing for Atlanta because if Richardson doesn't look capable of contributing they could cut him without any financial ramifications.
