Devin Booker gets 100% real on Nick Richards' Suns fit

01/25/2025 03:35 PM

Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker had high praise for the recently acquired Nick Richards, who was traded from the Charlotte Hornets to the Suns last week. Richards made his debut for Phoenix last Saturday, scoring 21 points and adding 11 rebounds in a 125-121 win at Detroit.

Asked about how Richards is fitting in with his new team, Booker said the big man is doing “great” and praised his work ethic and flexibility in learning a new system.

“He’s doing everything we’ve asked of him,” Booker said. “Learning quick, obviously a little adjustment. I think the guard-big relationship is one of the most important relationships out there. He’s telling me things he sees, I’m telling him things I see. It’s a relationship.”

Devin Booker on how Nick Richards is fitting in: "Great. Doing everything that we've asked for him and learning quick….I think the guard-big relationship is one of the most important relationships out there, so he's telling me the things he sees, I'm telling him things I see" pic.twitter.com/OkShDcZULI

— Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) January 25, 2025

Booker said working with another big does take time and there are specific factors that come into play only after a certain amount of experience together.

“Flow, timing, screening angles are probably the most important things,” Booker noted. “It’s just building the chemistry.”

Nick Richards brings solid inside presence to Phoenix

Phoenix acquired Richards and a second-round pick from Charlotte on Jan. 15 in a trade that sent forward Josh Okogie and three second-round picks back to the Hornets.

The Suns ranked last in the NBA in points from their starting center when Richards was brought in, with the team relying primarily on a rotation of veteran Mason Plumlee and rookie Oso Ighodaro in recent games. Center Jusuf Nurkic practiced Friday for Phoenix, but it’s unclear whether he’ll get playing time in Saturday’s contest against the Washington Wizards. Nurkic hasn’t played since Jan. 7 due to illness.

Richards has given the Suns a jolt at center, averaging 11 points and 10 rebounds in his three games in Phoenix while shooting 75 percent from the field.

The Suns’ Kevin Durant was a big proponent of bringing in Richards, saying, “He's a strong presence in the paint, a big body that can wreak havoc down there and cause some problems with his rim protection. Getting his hands on the basketball on the offensive glass and then finishing above the rim. It's something we all have to get better at as a group. Hopefully, he leads us in that area. Just controlling the paint."

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