The Clippers have traded 28-year old power forward Zach Randolph to the Grizzlies in return for 29-year old SG/SF Quentin Richardson. Randolph played in 39 games (34 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 35.1 minutes, 20.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. The main reason for making this trade was because Randolph wouldn’t be happy backing up Blake Griffin at power forward. Quentin Richardson played in 72 games (51 starts) for the Knicks last season and he averaged 26.3 minutes, 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Richardson has now played in 601 games (389 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 28.0 minutes, 11.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Richardson still has some game left so this trade made perfect sense for the Clippers to make even though Randolph will likely excel for the Grizzlies in 2009-2010.

29-year old shooting guard Ricky Davis has exercised his player option for the 2009-2010 NBA season. This should come as little surprise as Davis wouldn’t be a highly sought after free agent based on his play last season. Davis played in 36 games (9 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 21.8 minutes, 6.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Davis only shot 33.9% from the floor last season and that will need to improve if he wants to get more playing time. Davis has now played in 700 games (342 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 30.6 minutes, 13.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

The Los Angeles Clippers have selected 20-year old power forward Blake Griffin with the first pick in the NBA Draft. He’s a big guy at 6′10″, 251 pounds and he reminds a lot of scouts and experts of a young Karl Malone. Griffin only played 2 seasons at Oklahoma covering 68 games (63 starts) in which he averaged 18.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Griffin made 61.8% of his shots from the floor at Oklahoma but only 58.9% from the free throw line. Look for Griffin to be the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award for the Clippers in 2009-2010.

The three rookies on the Clippers have potential and they will likely garner more and more playing time as the season wears on. Shooting guard Eric Gordon definately has the biggest upside of this bunch. He has played in 14 games for the Clippers this season and he is averaging 15.2 minutes, 6.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game. Mike Taylor is another guard with a nice skill set. He has played in 13 games for the Clippers this season and he is averaging 11.9 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. Center DeAndre Jordan is a raw player who could take some time to develop. Jordan has only played in 3 games this season and he is averaging 2.5 minutes, 0.7 points and 0.7 rebounds.

The Los Angeles Clippers have acquired 27-year old forward Zach Randolph and 24-year old guard Mardy Collins from the Knicks for 33-year old guard Cuttino Mobley and 31-year old forward Tim Thomas. Randolph is one of the better power forwards in the NBA and he should give the Clippers some added scoring pop near the basket. He played in 11 games (11 starts) with the Knicks this season and he averaged 35.3 minutes, 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. It’s stunning that the Clippers could get Randolph from the Knicks so cheaply. Randolph has now played in 467 games (345 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 29.6 minutes, 16.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Mardy Collins is a decent, young reserve guard in the NBA. He played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Knicks this season and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.2 points, 0.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

Cuttino Mobley is a rare player who actually liked playing for the Clippers. He played in 11 games (all starts) this season for the Clippers and he averaged 33.2 minutes, 13.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He has now played in 747 games (581 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 37.0 minutes, 16.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Tim Thomas played in 10 games (5 starts) this season for the Clippers and he averaged 22.0 minutes, 9.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Thomas has now played in 753 games (406 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 26.6 minutes, 11.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. The Clippers win this trade in every way as they get the younger players and definately the most talented one in Randolph.