BOSTON — Josh Richardson had some stability at the start of his career, but he’s bounced around recently as he looks to re-establish himself in the league.
Richardson, 28, spent the first four seasons of his career in Miami after he was the 40th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He developed a solid reputation there, especially for a former second-round pick.
The early days of Celtics training camp, Richardson said, reminds him of his Heat days. The intensity is way up under C’s coach Ime Udoka, and the players have seen some jawing at each other as they smooth out the edges of their roster — and themselves.
“Just the level of competition,” Richardson said of practices. “Every day, every time we start to scrimmage or every time we do something live, it’s like everybody is trying to kill each other. It’s real physical. Everyone is talking s--- to each other and the way I’m cut and the way a lot of these guys are cut, I can tell that’s good for us because it keeps you engaged in practice.”
Richardson’s a well-traveled player, now on the fourth team of his career. He’s done an impressive job sticking in the league, though it hasn’t been without his struggles. The Celtics hope to use his services well as a defender now that he’s meshing with the team.
Richardson’s looking to reestablish himself in the league after a rocky past two seasons. After his Miami stint, he was traded to Philadelphia. Then after one season, he was once again moved to Dallas. That’s where his career took a rough turn. He wasn’t a perfect fit with the Mavericks, and by the playoffs, he faded away.
But Richardson gets a chance to wash all that away.
“I’m really excited to be here,” Richardson said during Celtics media day. “I think that competing against these guys the last six years has been, I’ve always kind of circled them on my calendar. I’ve always kind of been excited because they have always had competitors.”
Richardson, though, has had some significant experience playing for other teams — specifically for the Celtics’ rivals in Miami and Philadelphia. There are some aspects of those past experiences he can apply to present day.
The training camp experience is also new for everybody involved with Udoka at the helm. But early reports from training camp have seen the Celtics developing an edge to their game, which fits well with the personnel.
“When you are there, you kind of feel like it’s kind of different,” Richardson said of Miami. “The way that everyone is treated, the way that the 15th guy on the bench can go talk and tell the first guy in the game what they can do better and there’s no misunderstandings. ... Accountability is a big thing there.”
There’s also the long-standing rivalry between the Celtics and 76ers. While it’s been lopsided in recent years — especially in the playoffs — that’s a series both fan bases are invested in.
But from the 76ers’ side, when Richardson was there during the 2019-20 season, all the rivalry talk wasn’t exactly welcomed by everyone.
“From when I was there, Joel (Embiid) shut all that down,” Richardson said. “He was like, ‘They always kick our a-- so it’s not a rivalry so we’re treating it like that.’ So I mean, it wasn’t really much of a rivalry, it was just like, ‘These guys are good, and are coming in here to whoop us so let’s compete.’”
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