Heat Injury Report: Surgery Draws Curtains on 30YO Veteran’s Season, 45 Days Before Playoffs

The Miami Heat have lost their 2015 draft pick to a season-ending injury. Selected as the 40th overall pick in the second round of the NBA draft, Josh Richardson suffered a dislocated shoulder on February 11 against the Boston Celtics. The 30-year-old veteran hasn’t taken the floor since then.

According to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, “Heat’s Josh Richardson will undergo shoulder surgery on Wednesday and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.” Not the best news for the Heat as they are just 45 days away from the playoffs. And they could do with all the help.

Having gone through his fair share of teams like the Mavericks, Celtics, Spurs, and Pelicans, Richardson returned home this season. Unfortunately, he had to end everything early as he finished with averages of 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 43 games. He started in six of them.

Also worth noting is that Josh has a $3 million player option in the coming season. If he so wishes, the Oklahoma native can continue to stay with the Heat in the next season as well.

The absence of Josh Richardson adds to the woes of Miami

Before the major injury scare happened, Josh Richardson had missed a few games on account of minor injuries. But the hammer dropped when there was a sudden change of plans that necessitated surgery. And this comes at a period when the Heat has been struggling really hard on the injury front.

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Richardson’s absence further depleted Miami’s depth. Tyler Herro is still on the injury report without much positive news for a knee injury. In the midst of all this, the franchise’s signing of veteran guard Patty Mills makes a lot of sense. Miami had begun the season with point guards Kyle Lowry, Dru Smith, and Richardson.

But Lowry was traded to the Hornets, and both Smith and now Richardson are lost to injuries. Aside from Mills’ presence as a veteran floor-spacing option, the Heat still has skilled players on their roster. Jimmy Butler, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Caleb Martin, and Duncan Robinson all have proved to be great comfort in these trying times for the team.