Jason Richardson Confident That Winning Will Make Free Agency Easy

Filed under: Magic, Spurs, Suns

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jason Richardson saw the trade coming weeks before it happened. He just didn't know where he was going.

Richardson may have been the leading scorer of the Phoenix Suns through the first six weeks of the season, but the reluctance of management there to even discuss a contract extension - he is scheduled to become a free agent this summer -- told him he had no future there.

He isn't too sure about his future here, either.

Richardson played his third game with the Orlando Magic Thursday night since coming in a multi-player trade, still navigating his way through a difficult mid-season transition.

"The trade didn't catch me off guard at all. I knew when they wouldn't talk about an extension that I wasn't going to be there the whole season,'' Richardson said before the Magic played the San Antonio Spurs. "They wouldn't even sit down and talk to us. I kind of figured when they were dodging calls from my agent, something was going to happen.''

Richardson, who is making $14 million this season, was pushing hard for the extension in Phoenix, preferring to avoid free agency this summer. He was riding a strong playoff performance last spring and a fast start this season, knowing his stock would never be higher.

In Orlando, he is resigned to the fact that no extension will come during the season, needing to prove he can fit on a team with a dominating center and a handful of guys who all need the ball in their hands.

It's almost certain his scoring will drop in Orlando because of the way the Magic are constructed. He averaged 19.8 points for Phoenix in the playoffs, and he was averaging 19.3 points when the trade was made.

 

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Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/23/jason-richardson-confident-that-winning-will-make-free-agency-ea/

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