I’ll have a lot more to say in the next 24 hours, but here’s what’s going up at TrueHoop:
The last time Quentin Richardson was a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Clips were a promising, young squad that included Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Bobby Simmons, and Chris Wilcox. Next week, Richardson will be shipped back to Los Angeles as nothing more than filler in a deal that will send Zach Randolph from the Clippers to Memphis. It’s a seemingly inequitable trade — the 20/10 guy in Randolph for a gimpy, marginal Richardson — until you look beneath the surface:
- The player that matters most in this trade is neither Randolph nor Richardson, but the Clippers’ #1 pick, Blake Griffin. Randolph is a single-minded post scorer who likes to work on the right block — precisely where Blake Griffin is slated to build his NBA career as a monstrous big man. For the Clippers, moving Randolph clears the way for Griffin, where he’ll play alongside Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, and Griffin’s pal, the intriguing DeAndre Jordan.
- For the Clippers, moving Randolph isn’t just about clearing minutes — it allows the franchise to press rewind on what was a diastrous cultural acquisition in Randolph. Although Randolph’s selfishness, disinterst on defense, and questionable off-court character were no secret, Mike Dunleavy felt he had to find a frontcourt scorer after the Clippers lost Elton Brand to Philadelphia. He pushed all in on Randolph, absorbing three years and approximately $45 million in exchange for a couple of 2010 expiring contracts (Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley). Randolph put up his usual solid offensive numbers, but the Clippers still finished the season with a horrendous 19-63 record.
Worse, the team descended into a lazy funk. Though the blame can’t be attributed solely to Randolph, the Clippers had to endure Randolph’s sucker punch to Louis Amundson (resulting in suspension), and a drunk driving arrest (also resulting in suspension). For an organization that did an admirable job reshaping their image the preceding half-dozen years or so, 2008-09 was a disheartening setback — and Randolph was at the crime scene. - By shipping Z-Bo out of town, the Clippers move the remaining two years and $33.3 million of his contract. Richardson stands to earn only $9.35 million in 2009-10, and his contract expires at the end of the season. He might get some burn on the wing. With his bad back, he might not. For the Clips, it’s of little import. The move gives them significant cap room for the summer of 2010, when both Marcus Camby and Ricky Davis will also come off the books — nearly $20 million..
- That brings us to the obvious question: If Randolph is so inimical to an NBA team’s rebuilding effort — as determined by the Clippers, and New York and Portland before them — why does Memphis want him? The answer, as it was for the Clippers in November of last year, is that there aren’t a lot of available power forwards who can score and rebound the way Randolph can, and the Grizz need some production down low.
If you want to take a glass-half-full approach, you can look at a couple of mitigating factors in Memphis. Randolph’s worst qualities on the court are his ineffectual interior defense and his tendency to become a black hole in the offense. With Hasheem Thabeet, Memphis has a big man who can protect the rim and compensate for Randolph. And in Marc Gasol, they have a complementary big who knows how to move the ball out of the high post. In addition, if there’s one team in the NBA without cap concerns, it’s Memphis, which has only $17 million committed in salaries after next season.
 Zach Randolph and Quentin Richardson: Two Clips passing in the night. (Ray Amati via NBAE/Getty Images) |
The NBA’s salary cap structure is usually unforgiving of teams who made the kind of miscalculation the Clippers did on Zach Randolph last season. But the Clippers have been leading a charmed existence over the past six weeks. First Blake Griffin land in their lap, and now they find a willing sucker for Zach Randolph.
36 Responses
Best news of the day! Getting rid of Zach is addition by subtraction. FINALLY, the Clips do something right!
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:19 pm
I feel like crying. This is a great move. I would never have dreamed that we would have been able to move Z-Bo!
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:19 pm
LOOKING BETTER TODAY
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I LIKE THE TRUEHOOP TITLE OF THIS ARTICLE “CLIPPERS FIND THEIR WILLING TAKER”
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:26 pm
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! (ecstatic)
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Addition of QRich will add legitimate depth & experience to this team. It’s great to have him at the right time.
Clippers should sign Dionte Christmas. His maturity and skills look good.
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:34 pm
FINALLY.
I’m relieved.
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JM Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 7:57 pm
My sentiments exactly.
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Be careful what you wish for. I remember games last year where Zach was the ONLY good thing happening out there. I hope this works and we go out in 2010 and grab JOE JOHNSON or DWAYNE WADE.
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Q is BACK!!! and we get rid of Z-Bo? Someone please tell me I’m not dreaming
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 7:58 pm
OMG YES!!!
I was watching all these free agents committing to teams this morning, and I was wishing we could get rid of Zach.
Best of luck to him, but our organization is better off without him.
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 8:30 pm
wow i dont know what to think on the one hand it was obvious how great of a player Zach was and you guys cant like HE PLAYED GREAT when he originally came over and his production was great….but in the end it did not amount to wins…
so i guess im happy hes gone …..because it clears the way for Blake
and oh man this is probably the most ive been excited for a season in a while..
like the blog says getting Q was insignificant but the important thing now is
we can sign a decent FA in 2010 !!!
WOAH
cmon Dunleavy stay in the front office and get us a damn coach!
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FireDunleavy .com Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:21 am
If Dunleavy didn’t screw up in the first place in getting Randolph, the Clippers would have 2 expiring contracts and be able to get someone good.
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 9:13 pm
woohoo!
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 9:16 pm
also relieved that some other team was willing to take z-bo off our hands. hopefully clippers will play well enough that a strong free agent next summer will see the teams potential and want to come in and make a difference. but in order for that to happen baron needs to have a better year and be a leader. Eric and Blake are already attractive guys to play with. we also need a new coach. is there anybody besides me who would like to see mark jackson as the coach? although no official coaching experience, i’m sure he was a player-coach at the end of his career and has the tools and knowledge to be a decent head coach in the league.
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BoomDizzleisaCipp Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
mark jackson, though i love the guy, is not the right coach for the clippers. he would be a defensive minded and slow-tempo coach (a la Avery Johnson)…what we need is a young coach who lets the game be more free flowing and up-tempo so that we can get the most out of the athleticism and creativity of our roster…perhaps eddie jordan? i love what he did with letting Agent Zero run the point and giving him the freedom to make plays (even if mistakes happen), how great would that be for a guy like BoomDizzle?
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
HELL YES, like i said last year, the upcoming season is looking good.
Does anyone know if the clips have any cash to offer trevor ariza? it would be an awesome fit, and i would think he would like to stay in his hometown.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4301414
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Kevin Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Off the top of my head, I think the Clips now have ~ $59M guaranteed, including Griffin but excluding Novak (obviously, since it’s only a qualifying offer). So, yes, the Clips can throw $6M at Ariza.
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Kevin Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 9:41 pm
Actually, looking at the salaries on Hoops Hype the Clips have only ~ $55M guaranteed.
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BoomDizzleisaCipp Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:21 am
i agree, ariza would be perfect for this team, but they have $55 committed, cap might end up around $58…they might be able to buyout Q and save a couple more…still not enough to give Ariza what he’s looking for…perhaps they could trade Kaman or Camby for a young up-and-coming big or someone less talented and a few other buyout opportunities and make enough room to get him…i was thinking that a trade of camby for tyson chandler and some contract filler that we could buyout would give us an excellent young core (gordon, thorton, griffin and chandler/kaman with a vet pg like boom dizzle…looks awesome to me)
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 9:24 pm
This is the best news I have heard all week. Chris Wallace continues to prove to the world that he is the most inept GM in all of sports. This is definitely a step forward for the Clips, now lets get Griffin, Gordon, et al a real coach.
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BoomDizzleisaCipp Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:22 am
no doubt chris wallace is the absolute worst GM out there…we need to get the dunce to be making daily phone calls to this guy…perhaps thorton and kaman for mayo and gay? he might be retarded enough to pull the trigger
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Posted on July 1st, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Once the deal is official, what are the restrictions, if any, on dealing Q-Rich? Can we turnaround and deal him?
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 12:05 am
If we can’t trade Richardson, we can live with it. Richardson can provide 8-10 points off the bench and didn’t get a lot of shots on the Knicks last year. At worst, he’s a deep bench player falling behind Novak on the depth chart. At best, he can spot Thorton at the three in the second unit. It would be great if we could get an upgrade at the three with someone like Tashun Prince (dream) or even Ariza (very unlikely), but this news was like a second Christmas tonight. Beyond overjoyed that Z-Bo is gone. And getting rid of Camby is not an option. Not if really improving is an option. Let’s not think playoffs until the end of Nov. They are still weak at guard and the wing. Not a lot of depth there (even with Richardson coming over).
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Clipper Speakeasy Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 2:17 am
This is, without a doubt, a great move. Apparently, Dunleavy has adapted his tailor’s salesmanship to his role as GM and was able to convince Memphis that they would look great in a Z-Bo light blue plaid jacket with matching brown pants. That said, you can’t count on Q-Rich to play. If his contract is insured and he can’t play, that makes this an even better financial deal for the Clips. Anyway, while a huge cap improvement, it doesn’t solve the problems at the 2-3 spots, hence my inquiry about his tradeability. With a roughly $7M trade exception and the expiring deals of Q-Rich, Ricky D., Mardy C. and Camby, the Clips have the ability to make additional moves for a 2 or 3.
Detroit is collecting forwards — drafted 3 and just signed Charlie V — but is still in teardown mode. Ricky Davis and the trade exception works for Tayshaun.
Or we could make a run at Ariza in a sign and trade.
Or we could play it out as is, let them all expire and take a shot at Lebron or Wade. Is that even realistic? After those 2, the 2010 free agent class doesn’t really help the Clips.
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jockgroove Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 3:29 am
Joe Johnson maybe, but not Wade or LeBron. No way they are coming here.
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 12:46 am
This is awesome!
Someone call Darius. Its time for head bumps in Staples!
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BoomDizzleisaCipp Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:27 am
YES!!!
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 3:43 am
Clips should go after Grant Hill. He will be a great role model for Griffin, shoots more than 50% from the field, and will likewise keep Baron in check. The young players will learn a lot from him, which will be great for the Clippers future.
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BoomDizzleisaCipp Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:28 am
good call
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 4:45 am
kenji…i agree with you 100% Dun needs to get us a coach…Mark J. sounds good or even E.Johnson. Hell Ill even take Van Gundy…but I doubt he’ll want to come over with Camby on the team…might be afraid of his left hook still! lol…
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 7:44 am
SOMEBODY CALL DARIUS MILES, WE HAVE GOT SOME WORK TO DO!
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Chris. Reply:
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
he’s out smoking a doobie.
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 9:00 am
I hear that Q-Richardson has a back injury. If so can LAC put him on the shelf and request an injury salary cap exemption? If Q-Richardson can play then he adds a lot to LAC. With Q @2 and Novak @3 off the bench – LAC can really strech the D and perhaps open some scoring opportunities for DeAndre/Griffin down low. Best wishes to Z-Bo in Memphis.
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 10:07 am
I liked Randolph and his offense when we had none and I wish him the best in Memphis. Last year I was excited to see this team play together, right now I’m creaming my pants with excitement! Is it too early to say “it’s hip2clip” again?
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Posted on July 2nd, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Grant Hill (1.98m, played all 82 games last season), Matt Barnes (1.2m), and even Jumpin James Singleton are all serviceable wings we can use and get on the cheap. Any of you remember how Singleton was a beast at defensive/ offensive rebounds for the clips in 07-08?? He was just misused as a PF. Get him on his natural position and get Thornton’s no defense ass on the 4 slot backing up Blake and we may have something….
F* R.Davis. I don’t hear any stories about his ass in Playa workin out with Boom Dizzle and DJ. Has he no f*n pride after last season?
Dont even get me started on Mardy Collins… Mardy Collins?! C’mon now…
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Posted on July 3rd, 2009 at 7:51 am
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