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The San Antonio Spurs have agreed to trade Josh Richardson to the New Orleans Pelicans for Devonte' Graham and four future second-round picks, according to Shams Charania. Per Jeff McDonald, the Spurs will get the Pelicans' second-round picks in 2024, 2026, 2028 and 2029. 

This is the fifth consecutive year that Richardson has been traded, though only one of those previous moves also came at the deadline. The Pelicans will be his sixth team during that span, joining the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and Spurs in his growing collection of jerseys. 

In 42 games with the Spurs this season, the majority of which were in a reserve role, Richardson averaged 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point land. He'll give the Pelicans another versatile wing who can guard multiple positions and, most importantly, knock down some shots from the perimeter. 

The Pelicans' offense has fallen off a cliff since Zion Williamson went down with a hamstring injury that has kept him out for the last 19 games. But even when he was healthy, their lack of outside shooting was a real concern; for the season they are 29th in 3-point attempts per game (30.5) and 18th in 3-point percentage (35.7). In addition to often facing a math problem, the Pels' poor spacing made life more difficult for Williamson and Brandon Ingram at times. 

While Richardson isn't Kyle Korver, his 4.9 3-point attempts per game would rank third on the Pels, and his 35.7 percentage from deep would be fourth among rotation players taking at least one attempt per game. He's also much bigger than Graham, and a better and more versatile defender. An additional bonus is that Richardson's contract will be up at the end of this season, giving the Pels some added flexibility. While this wasn't the all-in push that some in New Orleans may have been hoping for, it's a solid move on multiple fronts. 

As for the Spurs, there was no reason for them to keep Richardson around for the remainder of the season considering he will become an unrestricted free agent and wasn't going to re-up in San Antonio. Graham has a bit of a longer-term contract, but his money is only fully guaranteed through 2024. Taking on that deal is a small price for the Spurs to pay to acquire a plethora of extra second-round picks.