Jason Richardson Wants to Be Traded to Detroit Or Chicago

Is it me or has Jason Richardson not quite had the career everyone expected from him? I guess I'm not exactly going out on a limb by saying that, especially this season when his minutes have been cut from 38 to 32 and his scoring has dropped from 23.2 to 14.6, but still.

In this day and age when the ability to slice through the lane and get to the basket is at a premium, Richardson is oddly available -- at least if you believe the Chicago Tribune's ever-reliable Sam Smith:

Jason Richardson is leaving hints that given their infatuation with Monta Ellis Richardson will be the one traded by the Warriors after the season. Richardson is telling friends he's hoping for a trade to the Pistons or Bulls.

Monta Ellis is for real, but he makes me nervous -- the kid can score from all angles, but his frail-ish stature (6-3, 191 pounds) makes me wonder if he can be a true starting two-guard in this league. Richardson, on the other hand, has legit size (6-6, 225) and can hit the boards when needed.

Does he have a chance to actually land with the Bulls or Pistons? Well, if he did, he wouldn't be improving his situation, at least in terms of getting out of someone else's shadow and returning to being the No. 1 scoring option. But hey, now that he's paid (he's due $11.11 million next year, and his contract increases by $1.11 million every year thereafter through 2011), maybe that's not a huge priority for him.

I agree with the guys over at Blog-A-Bull that there's no chance Chicago would trade Ben Gordon to acquire J-Rich. And while I'm personally intrigued by the idea of a three-guard rotation featuring Gordon, Richardson and Kirk Hinrich, the Bulls will undoubtedly go after an established scoring threat in the post before they add another guard. And besides, putting all three on the floor at the same time would push Luol Deng to the four, where he'd be a big liability.

What about Detroit? Considering Richardson grew up in nearby Saginaw I can see the appeal to returning home. But while the Pistons could certainly use a guy who can drive the lane, Richardson wouldn't start over Rip Hamilton and he's too expensive to be a backup, especially if Chauncey Billups gets his max deal this summer. Flip Murray has indicated he's not going to opt-out of his contract, and even if he's traded the Pistons still have Carlos Delfino and (if he returns from Europe as expected) Alex Acker as backcourt depth ... and that's not even counting any potential rookies the team picks up with their two first-round picks this summer.

I won't be surprised at all if Richardson is dealt this summer, but it won't be to either of his first options.

(Hat-tip: Blog-A-Bull)