The Clippers brought in 24-year old Sebastian Telfair in a trade with the T-Wolves in the off-season to back up Baron Davis who has been a tad injury prone in his career. 30-year old Baron Davis played in 65 games for the Clippers last season and he averaged 34.6 minutes, 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He is the pass first point guard that the Clippers need with the talented them they have in place. Sebastian Telfair played in 75 games for the Timberwolves this season and he averaged 27.9 minutes, 9.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Telfair can handle big minutes if Davis goes down to injury. The Clippers will likely cut down on Davis’ minutes with Telfair now in the fold in an attempt to keep him healthy.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POINT GUARDS IN 2009-2010: B+

The Clippers have re-signed 33-year old PF/C Brian Skinner. Skinner played in 51 games (21 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 16.5 minutes, 4.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Skinner has now played in 589 games (196 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 18.3 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. This was a good move for the Clippers who will have a very deep bench for the upcoming season.

The Clippers have re-signed 26-year old small forward Steve Novak.  Novak played in 71 games (3 starts) for the Clippers last season and he averaged 16.4 minutes, 6.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  Novak’s main skill is his long range shooting as he nailed 41.6% of his shots behind the three point line last season.  This was a good move for the Clippers as Novak can be the long range assassin off the bench again this year.

I’m stunned to write that headline but the Clippers have done a great job of adding talent to the roster. The only player the Clippers got rid of was Zach Randolph in a trade with the Grizzlies because they won the lottery and selected power forward Blake Griffin in the first round to replace him in the starting lineup. The Clippers then traded Quentin Richardson who they acquired for Randolph to get point guard Sebastian Telfair, power forward Craig Smith and forward Mark Madsen. The Clippers have released Madsen since then but he wasn’t going to get any minutes anyway. Telfair will back up Baron Davis and Craig Smith will back up Blake Griffin giving the Clippers’ bench some firepower. SG/SF Ricky Davis exercised his player option for this season and the Clippers hope he will play better for them which is possible. The cherry on top for the Clippers was getting SG/SF Rasual Butler from the Hornets for a 2nd round pick. He brings long range shooting ability to L.A.

OFF-SEASON GRADE FOR THE FRONT OFFICE SO FAR: A