No one was expecting to see Will Richard's name in a starting lineup, even in the preseason.
But on Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors and Steve Kerr made Richard a part of the starting five. He was joined by Steph Curry, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and Al Horford.
It happened in part because Jimmy Butler was out with an ankle sprain, but it was also a bit of an experiment from Kerr.
ESPN's Anthony Slater wrote on X, "Steve Kerr said they want a look at Richard, a second round rookie, next to and against NBA starters."
How'd Richard look? Really solid.
He put up 13 points, six rebounds and two assists. In 30 minutes of game time, Richard's Warriors were plus-10 when he was on the floor.
"I won't hesitate to put him out there (in the regular season)," Kerr said postgame. "I have that much confidence in him already."
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Richard was the No. 56 overall pick in the 2025 draft out of national champions Florida, after beginning his college career at Belmont.
He's 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds, a sturdy guard who the Warriors clearly like.
Part of the reason Golden State has stayed this good this long is hitting on the occasional later draft pick, and Richard might be the latest example of that.
If the Warriors can get rotation minutes out of a late second-round pick in his rookie season, and if they're legitimately solid minutes, it can go a long way on an otherwise very veteran team.
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