Although the possibility of signing Sessions is still out there, the trade that netted the Clippers Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith and Mark Madsen should bring some sense of finality to a surprisingly wild offseason. Yes, there are still a few holes that could stand to be filled, but as a whole the Clippers arguably improved themselves more than any other team this offseason. The way Dunleavy brilliantly flipped Zach Randolph for a valuable 7 million dollar trade exception and two talented young players in Craig Smith and Sebastian Telfair should have him considering a career in real estate once he’s done with this basketball thing. No matter how you feel about Dunleavy, you have to hand it to him for swinging a few great deals that actually puts the franchise in much better shape than it was around this time last year.
Breaking Down Craig Smith
Clips Send Richardson to Minnesota for Telfair, Smith, and Madsen
From Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports:
The Los Angeles Clippers have reached an agreement in principle to trade guard Quentin Richardson to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Sebastian Telfair, Mark Madsen and Craig Smith, leagues sources said Monday.
Richardson is quickly becoming the Mike Remlinger of basketball.
More information coming.
Randolph-Richardson Trade Complete
Why the Randolph-Richardson Trade is in a Holding Pattern
From the Memphis Commercial Appeal:
Although neither team has reneged, an agreed-upon trade between Memphis and the Los Angeles Clippers that would put power forward Zach Randolph in a Grizzlies uniform wasn’t made official Wednesday for several reasons ranging from accounting to player physicals…
It could take up to five more days before the Randolph-for-Richardson swap is announced, mainly because the Griz are looking to consummate another trade scenario first.
As the NBA lifted a moratorium on transactions Wednesday, Memphis was among a few teams considering a three-way deal with Dallas and Toronto.
What’s Next for the Clippers?
The Clippers currently hold their mid-level exception, as well as a traded player exception worth between $7-8M. Clipperblog spoke to a source inside the Clippers organization who offered the following:
- The Clippers are in no hurry to use their trade exception. They feel that the exception will only increase in value between now and the trade deadline. “If there’s a great value out there this summer, that’s one thing,” said the source. “But there’s a much better chance of our picking up a very good piece down the road closer to the trading deadline, as teams get squeezed by the tax, or fall out of [playoff contention].”