Nick Richards is entering his first season with the Miami Heat motivated to prove himself after his free agency unfolded differently than he expected.
The veteran center signed a one-year minimum contract with Miami that is not guaranteed. While that was not the type of agreement Richards and his representatives originally envisioned, he believes joining the Heat ultimately gives him a good opportunity.
“I feel like I’m in the right situation that was best for me,” Richards said. “From my team’s standpoint, my agency and myself, (a non-guaranteed contract) wasn’t really what was planned. But I think we just got to take advantage of the opportunity that I have right now. And we’re just going to keep moving forward. I’m still going to come in every single day, be myself, do what the team needs me to do, and prove myself to the coaching staff and everybody.”
Rather than dwelling on how the market developed, Richards plans to use the disappointment as motivation. With his roster spot not guaranteed, he understands that he will have to demonstrate his value to Miami’s coaching staff throughout the season.
Richards also admitted that he expected greater interest from other NBA teams and now wants to show those organizations that overlooking him was a mistake.
“I think that there are a lot of teams that passed up on me that I felt like they should have given me more consideration,” Richards said of his free agency this summer. “But it didn’t work that way, and I feel like it’s just time for me to show them that you guys were wrong and you should have picked me.”
