3 underrated wings the Trail Blazers can trade for as a gift to the fans

The Portland Trail Blazers have the opportunity to unlock Josh Richardson

Josh Richardson was once regarded as a potential two-way star, making advanced plays on both ends of the court for the Miami Heat.

Since taking his talents out of South Beach, though, Richardson has struggled as his new teams tried to shoehorn him into a 3-and-D wing. While he can certainly clamp down on defense and hit triples going the other way, forcing him into a catch-and-shoot player is wasting his abilities.

Richardson is at his best as a secondary playmaker, creating in transition or out of the pick-and-roll for himself and his teammates. He’s also one of those players who seemingly shoots better if he has the chance to pound the rock a little before pulling the trigger.

On his latest squad, the Boston Celtics who feature two star wings in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, there’s little opportunity for Richardson to be used as a ballhandler.

In the last game he played for the C’s — before he entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols — he caught the hot hand and Head Coach Ime Udoka leaned on his abilities to lead Boston through the finish line against the New York Knicks.

Richardson finished with 27 points, four assists, and five rebounds, while making plays like these:

The Trail Blazers need a player exactly like Josh Richardson; one who can create offense for himself and others in the reserve unit and can also play off-the-ball when Damian Lillard is cooking.

They’re also desperately lacking a perimeter defender of Richardson’s caliber.

Portland has the opportunities available for him to be the best version of himself and could definitely use a player like Richardson at his best. This could be the perfect pairing.