Craig Smith
Position: Undersized 4 (6-foot-7)
Contract: 1 year, $2.5M
2008-09 PER: 17.01
Comment: Smith is an extremely efficient offensive creature, though he needs to step away from the table if he wants to be able to guard quicker, longer face-up 4s and perimeter 3s. Smith shot 47.9% on 2-point jumpers — one of the better figures in the league. A useful piece to have.
Bassy Telfair
Position: Point Guard
Contract: 2 years, $5.2M (second year is a player option for $2.7M)
2008-09 PER: 10.81
Comment: Was to be the next Kenny Anderson, but has drifted aimlessly through the league since being drafted by Portland five years ago. Telfair has one of the best handles in the league, but can’t put the ball through the iron to save his life. He shot 44% from close range last season, 37.8% on 2-point jumpers, and 34.6% beyond the arc.
Mark Madsen
Position: Blogger
Contract: 1 year, $2.84M
2008-09 PER: -0.11
Comment: Filler. Unlikely to make the Clippers 2009-10 roster.
26 Responses
Really wanted to see Q stay but I’m alright with the trade as long as it means Iverson isn’t coming.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
SICK DEAL. madsen is prolly gonna get waived if not he a good locker room guy. C. smith is a straight banger at the 3/4 and bassy is whatever but he’ll get serious burn since mike taylor choked on his turnovers in vegas. I see the clips being a 7th or 8th seed this year!
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Does this end the Iverson rumors?
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Interesting deal. Smith is definitely a banger, but undersized. I’m not sure about Bassy playing the 2nd PG.
Still confused on this one…
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
i can already see it BD and bassy throwin’ no look lobs to blake and DJ…WOW
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
not bad… i think Craig Smith is a poor man’s Brandon Bass / Paul Milsap / Carl Landry. He hustles and battles. He’s precisely the type of player that KILLED the clippers last year. Now we have one on our own.
I think Telfair is a marginal upgrade over Taylor. He is much more experienced (+300 games under his belt). It’s ok for a 2nd string point guard not to be able to shoot, as long as he runs the team well and doesnt turn the ball over. Taylor can be used off the bench as an emergency offensive option at his natural position, the 2.
Madsen is a player that will be out of the league pretty soon. He had a really nice career for a guy with zero athletic ability. His dance at the Laker parade will live in infamy, forever.
Good trade for depth… the only thing you lose is Telfair’s 2.7 M option for next year which he will almost certainly pick up… unless he has a stellar year.
Verdict: Good trade… not “the answer” to all the problems but will sure help more than Q-Rich would have.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Hmm…what’s the greater emotional response: gladness that Iverson’s not coming, or sadness that Sessions isn’t coming either? I suppose it’s probably the former, since Telfair may still be an upgrade over Taylor and in theory this still allows for the Clippers being “on the right track”. Disappointed about no Sessions, but the Clips probably still have an opportunity to land a comparable solution at PG over the next few years.
I’m not familiar w/ Smith. Does he ever log minutes at the 3? Yahoo lists him as a forward-center, but that’s not where we most need help right now.
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ClipUK Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Yep, Telfair is definately an upgrade over Taylor at this point in time. I’m upset also at no Ramon cos I think a 3 guard rotation of him, Gordon and Baron would have been sweet but oh well, I like getting 2 pieces back for Q.
Smith doesn’t really play the 3, he’s just a short 4. He’s a tough banger who lit us up last year for loads of points in the first quarter. Very energetic and great for the rotation.
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James Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
According to 82games.com Craig Smith Played 29% of his teams minutes at the PF and 7% at Center, meaning he plays the 4 and the 5 not SF
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Sounds like Dunleavy has an awful lot of confidence that he’ll be able to keep Telfair’s worst impulses in check. Fingers crossed that he’ll find his groove as BD’s backup, but he’s done little but disappoint in his career.
But, agreed, a better, cheaper choice than Iverson.
Still think we need to target Sessions with what remains of our cap space. What’s the latest on that?
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Oh q-rich, gone before you ever came. but can telfair play d cause he’s 6-0 175lb? This trade is bitter-sweet because 1 really think sessions is the real deal but telfair and smith( i like the carl landry reference) seem like a good deal for q-rich. Next up, trade kaman before he blows off a finger lighting fireworks(see his youtube channel)
Now it’s time to make an offer to marvin williams, and if the hawks keep him, their salary will be too high and we can swoop in and get joe johnson next offseason.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
seems like a garbage for garbage deal. don’t get it. sessions was the move, but the clips never seem to get even the obvious things right. feels like 2 steps forward, 2 steps back. yawn.
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btc Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Garbage ? Do you watch the NBA? Bass and smith can play. We traded a guy who was gonna give us nothing for two legit players. This is a steal.
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TNT57 Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
That’s why Telfair gets traded more than General Motors. But you’re a genuis.
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MichaelCage! Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
Actually, GM doesn’t get traded at all right now. It exists currently only as a liquidation company.
But asides from that, this trade is a decent one. Sebastian isn’t an NBA starter but he’s a pass-first uptempo guy that can come off the bench and change the rhythm of the game. Minnesota traded him because they inexplicably drafted two point guards in this draft. Smith has good upside but he wasn’t going to get much playing time behind Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Our bench got a bit stronger with these two kids.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Yep, if we can get Kaman out of here, it’ll be a perfect start.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Okay whoever is saying we need to get rid of Kaman is beyond stupid you dont just give up a 7 footer with the potential to give you 15 and 10 consistently without really demanding the ball the guy will also take a lot of pressure off of Griffin down low and lets be honest Camby and Jordan are not yet able to do that so I really hope the team forgets about trading Kaman quite frankly im thinking maybe even trading thornton before Kaman.
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paradice Reply:
July 20th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
I’ll slap the stupid out of you, get rid of that guy………..
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Kaman is good. Get rid of the training staff. THEY ARE THE BIGGEST CANCER ON THE TEAM.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
GET ALLEN IVERSON THEN WE CAN TALK
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
“Mark Madsen position: Blogger” LOL. Yes we need Madsen. He gives good bench-twitter.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
RHINO has arrived!
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
telfair is a perfect backup PG for the clips. in fact, (most of you will disagree) he will fit in better with the 2nd unit than sessions would have. with our second unit, we do not need a facilitator as much as we need a playmaker. with guys like deandre, novak, smith, etc we will need someone to drive and dish and push the tempo. while sessions is a more versatile defender and a solid young half court facilitator, he has his limitations. as bad of a shooter as many say telfair is, he is still a much better shooter than sessions. in addition, his contract is more appealing than what we would have to pay sessions to backup baron davis and his untradeable contract for the next four years. imo, it is going to take 3-4 years and $4+ million to sign him to an offer sheet. on top of that, there are no guarantees that the Bucks would not match. all in all, i think telfair is a solid, true point guard who will fit in with the team as currently built.
The addition of craig smith is big, both literally and figuratively. i am a bit biased as i love to see LA players come back home. smith may not look the part, but the kid can play ball. he is a mismatch anytime he is on the floor. he has a true midrange J and is solid with his back to the basket from the block or mid-post. for all of dunleavy’s shortcomings, he generally does a decent job of devising ways to get his scorers the ball in the post and mid-post. can he defend is the question. he has a few things going for him: solid strength and quickness, marcus camby who has his back, and most importantly 6 fouls. other than blake, he is our only true 4 (novak cant defend the 4). with blakes versatility, there will be times that smith can be paired with him or novak depending on the matchups. very solid addition.
madsen is at the men’s wherehouse right now looking for new suits to wear when he’s watching games at staples next year.
now go sign someone to back up the 2/3 (desmond mason, carney, wafer, udoka, kleiza, barnes, delfino, bogans, etc) and call it an offseason. 6, 7, and 8 seeds up for grabs. lets go get em!
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Now send Baron Davis to Milwaukee for SESSIONS & Co.
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Posted on July 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Sounds like the Clips will be putting a college no-name roster on the floor again this season.
I’ll plan on really cheap tickets in the Spring…
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Posted on July 21st, 2009 at 10:26 pm
I got a funny feeling that lebron will end up on the clippers in 2010. Just like the feeling i had before Manny came to my Dodgers…I’m just saying
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Posted on July 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 pm
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