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.

We’ve already talked a bit about Bassy, and his story is pretty well publicized. As the backup point guard (for now, anyway) to injury prone Baron Davis, Telfair is likely to play a huge role next season. With the Clippers front court being relatively crowded, Craig Smith doesn’t appear to have an easy route to playing time, but for the man they call “Rhino”, that is nothing new.

Joining the Clippers is a homecoming for Craig Smith, who was born and raised in Inglewood. Collegiate basketball fans may remember Smith for his illustrious career at Boston College, where he teamed with fellow Southern California native Jared Dudley to become one of the most formidable duos in the NCAA. Smith would finish his career as the second leading scorer in Boston College history, and despite being named a second team All-American, he would fall to pick 36. Smith is your classic draft day dropper; if he stood at 6′9 instead of 6′7 he would have likely been a lottery pick.

Despite Smith’s vertical deficiencies, he’s been an effective role player off the bench in his first three years as a pro. Smith is the definition of an efficient scorer, shooting 55% from the field on his career. His per36 minute scoring numbers are equally impressive, as Smith clocked in at 18.4 PPG last year in that category. Maybe most impressive though is the frequency with which Smith gets to the line, going 3.4 times a game last year in only 19 minutes a contest.

The knack on Smith however is that even though he gives you a lot offensively, he’s prone to giving everything right back on the other end. In many ways, Smith is oddly similar to the player the Clippers ultimately gave up to get him; the much maligned Zach Randolph. Smith shares many of the same defensive issues Randolph does in that neither are quick enough to guard 3’s, and both are too small in the post to contest shots against 4’s. Randolph was primarily exploited last year in pick and roll situations, and Smith has been known to struggle in that area as well. Smith is listed at “250″ pounds, but he’s reportedly closer to 275, and that’s a lot of man to get going in different directions. He’s not terrible at it, but don’t expect Smith to be leading a seminar on “how to hedge a pick and roll” anytime soon. The main difference between Randolph and Smith is that Smith is just a sub-par defensive rebounder, while Randolph is one of the better defensive rebounders in the game.

Smith and Randolph aren’t terribly different offensively, either. Similar to Randolph, Smith carves out space for himself inside by using his incredible girth, and then flips in shots from strange angles with a soft touch. Of course, Smith doesn’t have the jump shooting capabilities that Randolph posseses, but you can’t exactly leave him open either. The guy has some range.

But how does “Rhino” and his unique talents fit into the Clippers front court? In theory, pretty well. The Clippers are one of the few teams in the league that have three shot blocking talents like Camby, Kaman and Jordan. Because of this luxury that the Clippers have, Smith will never be without a true big man in the lineup with him, even if it’s Griffin. Offensively, Dunleavy’s post centric offense appears to be tailor made to Smith’s talents. Similar to the thought process with Randolph last year, the pairing that makes most sense is putting Smith alongside Camby, as they seemingly fill the holes in each other’s games as a duo.

Acquiring Smith and Telfair is a low risk, high reward move by Dunleavy. Even Michael Scott would surely deem this a “Win-Win-Win situation”. Basically, we knew what Quentin Richardson was going to bring to the team; a bad back, a bit of nostalgia, and an expiring contract. Smith, 25, was widely regarded by Minnesota fans as agreat role player who worked hard and was a good locker room presence. If he performs well, he could end up being another addition to the emerging young Clippers core. If he doesn’t perform, the Clippers still stand to lose nothing, except for salary. If Smith can stay healthy and play up to his talent level, he’ll be a more than welcome addition to the Clippers.

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.

“Done,” according to Mike Dunleavy, as of a little after 3:30 p.m. PT.

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.

The Mavericks are trying to pry Shawn Marion from the Raptors in a sign-and-trade agreement and are soliciting the Grizzlies as a facilitator. It is believed that the Griz would receive veteran guard Jerry Stackhouse and cash considerations in the deal.

Stackhouse has $2 million guaranteed on a $7 million contract for next season.

Any potential Memphis-Dallas-Toronto deal would not affect the Grizzlies’ agreement with the Clippers.

In short, Quentin Richardson makes $8.7M, while Zach Randolph makes $16M. If the Clips-Grizz trade were to be consummated before the Marion/Stackhouse carnival deal, Memphis wouldn’t have enough cap room to accept Stack’s $7.25M salary. But once the Grizzlies complete the four-way deal and waive Stackhouse, they’ll be sufficiently below the cap to accept the $7.3M difference in salary between Messers. Randolph and Richardson.

Anyone want to talk basketball?

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].”
• The team likes the progress Mike Taylor is making, but wants to find a prototypical point guard this offseason to backup Baron Davis, considering Baron’s injury history. “We’re really happy with Mike as a third guy right now,” the source said. “He’s doing all the right things, but it’s not something we’re ready to hang our hat on yet.”
• The Clippers recognize that depth on the perimeter remains their most pressing issue, particularly defensively. They see Mardy Collins as a versatile utility man who does nothing exceptionally, but a lot of different things fairly well. Q is regarded as a guy who can play the 2 or 3, and Ricky Davis as a big question mark because of the tendinitis in his knee. If the Clippers make a splash — an unlikely event — it will probably be at the 3.
• What about the Clippers’ MLE?  The Clippers are putting out feelers, but are cautious. “Everyone has an inflated opinion of their value right now,” the source said, alluding to Shawn Marion’s rejection of a multi-year deal worth $8M/per from Toronto.  The Clippers see the MLE as an opportunity to maneuver within the confines of the cap, but not as an excuse to pay a $3M player almost $6M/per.  “If there’s someone who makes sense and is a value, sure. But right now, the market is unsettled.”

Those guided by superstition have traditionally characterized the Clippers’ misfortunes as preordained — as if management, a willingness to invest, talent evaluation, and coaching had nothing to do with a team’s performance during its first 25 years in Los Angeles. But even hard-boiled empiricists would have to concede this morning that the Clippers have been blessed over the past month and a half. A cursed franchise doesn’t typically defy probability and land the top pick in a one-player draft, or find a willing sucker to take on their most toxic asset a full week before the moratorium when such a trade can be consummated.

The Clippers have gotten lucky. Although diligence is often the mother of good luck, that’s probably untrue in the Clippers’ case. Only by virtue of drawing Blake Griffin on a losing hand, and finding a franchise more desperate and financially beleaguered than them, were the Clippers able to graduate overnight into a team with the opportunity for a bright future. The Clippers’ ability to finesse a new home for Zach Randolph doesn’t absolve the November deal any more than hitting on 18 and pulling a three at the blackjack table makes that blunder excusable. Having said that, luck (there’s that fussy word again) sometimes offers generous reprieves, and the Clippers were certain beneficiaries of those breaks.

I’ve been rough on Zach Randolph, so I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a more rational critique of him as a player. Is Randolph is a bad guy?  I’ve had several conversations with him, but I generally hold the position that a series of locker room encounters tells us precious little about the inner life of athletes. There’s enough evidence to suggest that Randolph has applied lousy judgment throughout his professional life. On the court, he’s a statistical beast, but there’s a body of work that reveals tendencies which aren’t conducive to the formula the NBA demands at this moment for a successful franchise. Randolph was born about a decade too late, and would’ve been much more helpful pre-2001, before the revisions of the hand-checking rules produced a more perimeter-oriented game more hospitable to face-up 4s. His defense would’ve been less of a liability in an era when “taking up space” was a more essentially defensive quality, and Zach certainly does that. But today’s game presents insurmountable problems for Zach. Defensively, he simply can’t defend the collection of athletic 4s who dominate the league. When his man works his way down low, Zach has a horrible habit of bailing out, leaving a basket defender like Marcus Camby as the last line of defense. That’s an excusable tactic for a perimeter defender who’s gotten beat, but power forwards have certain responsibilities down low and, unlike front line defenders, they can’t hide from those.

Offensively, Randolph is a black hole down low. If we’ve seen nothing else since April 18, the ability of bigs to move the ball can’t be overstated. It’s no longer merely a luxury; it’s a prerequisite for longterm success. On Monday, John Krolik of Cavs the Blog composed this pithy axiom: “Simply put, some guys create shots and plays offensively while other guys finish them.” Randolph is undoubtedly a one-on-one finisher — and a pretty good one. But that’s not what the Clippers needed in 2008-09, or or necessitate going forward. They need guys who can create for others. Even Dwight Howard, he of the so-called (and mischaracterized) one-dimensional game, became an effective post-and-kick man for Orlando. Yet, Clippers fans went days without seeing Randolph make a smart pass to set up a shooter.

That’s our final word here on Randolph. Maybe he’s capable of giving the Grizz a jolt in a frontcourt that needs a productive one-on-one scorer. Who knows?

For all of Randolph’s deficiencies, the Clippers probably didn’t improve their 2009-10 win total yesterday, but they opened up space for Blake Griffin — obviously — and also for DeAndre Jordan. Watching Jordan workout and talking with talent evaluators and Clippers assistants, I’m becoming increasingly bullish on Jordan’s capacity to log quality NBA minutes at center. If he continues to refine his game, Jordan has a real chance to become a Chris Andersen-type shot-blocking energy big man who can collect garbage off the offensive glass, finish on the break, put up a gaudy FG%, and rebound like a fiend. Assuming that Kaman and Camby miss a collective 40 games this season — and that’s not an unreasonable assumption — Jordan will have the chance to hone his skills.  That’s important, because it’s very likely Jordan will be an essential part of a Clippers frontcourt that, crowded as it’s been the past year or so, will soon thin out.

The wings? Still a concern. According to sources, the Clippers’ brass is gradually coming around to the idea that Al Thornton might be best utilized off the bench. Unfortunately, their only other options at the SF right now are Mardy Collins and Quentin Richardson — they of the combined 21.16 PER, plantar fasciitis, and a sore back. With the Richardson deal, the Clippers will be just barely under the cap, though they acquired a $7.3M trade exception. Although the Clips have been mentioned as a possible destination for Trevor Ariza — and wouldn’t that be glorious — they can offer him only the MLE (barring an improbably sign & trade with the $7.3M exception), which puts them in the boat with everyone else. Maybe Ariza, as a local product, would be receptive to moving across the hall at a discount, but it’s more likely he’ll land where he can either [a] get more cash (i.e. Toronto), or [b] contend for a ring (i.e. Cleveland).

To those dreaming of the promised land in 2009-10, it’s vital to exercise patience. The Clippers are still a year away from adding the personnel that can elevate them from curiosity to contender. But for the first time since the summer of 2006, the sun is out across the Nación this morning. Overnight, the Clippers became a younger, more likeable, more watchable, nimbler group. The effect on Baron Davis should be a positive one, and they can begin to sculpt an offense around a potentially devastating big-small/inside-outside combo in Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon.

When the season is over, the Clips will have nearly $20M available to them in free agency depending on the cap number. They’ll be able to compete for the 6-7 Joe Johnson, who would make a sensible wingmate for Eric Gordon. They could throw some shekels at the restricted Thabo Sefolosha, who would be a stellar addition for a team in need of facilitators and defenders. The Clippers will also have the flexibility to execute a sign and trade if there are contracted players on other rosters they covet (though the Clippers’ assets will be limited unless there are Al Thornton fans out there). Whatever they decide to do a year from now, the Clippers now have one of the most valuable assets a team with a promising young core can have: the means and flexibility to add complementary pieces.