Sixers’ Josh Richardson has key role with Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick gone

Josh Richardson knows his role could vary from game to game. That won’t change the 76ers’ new shooting guard’s approach.

“One thing you get out of me every night is intensity,” Richardson said.

For him, it’s all about playing every possession like it’s his last while trying to help the team win.

“I am the kind of guy who can morph into any role I need to on any nightly basis to give the team the best chance to win,” said Richardson, whom the Sixers acquired in an offseason trade from the Miami Heat for Jimmy Butler.

One of his roles will be to guard opposing teams’ backup point guards. Richardson said he’s excited about it, because point guards are “super tough players.” He believes that point guards are never totally shut down. His job will be to contain them.

“Over the years, I have figured out ways to do that,” Richardson said, “and this team has had their slight problem with smaller, quicker guards. That is an area I tend to excel in.”

Richardson’s game is comparable to Butler’s, although he doesn’t handle the ball as well. He averaged a career-high 4.1 assists to go with a career-best 16.6 points last season -- his fourth in the league. Richardson has also drawn comparisons to JJ Redick, who played with the Sixers for two years before signing a free-agent deal in July with the New Orleans Pelicans.

“It is hard to compare to guys," he said. “Those two guys excelled.”

Butler is one of the NBA’s best two-way players while Redick might be one of the top catch-and-shoot players in NBA history.

“I am not coming here to do what they did,” Richardson said. “I am coming here to give the team the best chance to win, the best way that I know.”