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Ted Carlson

Grizzlies Add Big Bear

July 2, 2009 12:46pm CDT

*Update: The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that this deal has been put on hold. Neither team has backed out of the agreement, but there are some reported hold ups ranging from physicals to accounting for the salaries.

The hot potato known as "Z-Bo" continues to be passed around the NBA. The Grizzlies will be the latest team to employ enigmatic power forward Zach Randolph. They agreed to a trade with the Clippers to bring the big man to Memphis in exchange for shooting guard Quentin Richardson. The deal can't be officially completed until next week.

Randolph, who turns 28 this month, averaged 20.8 points and 10.1 rebounds over 50 games in 2008-09. He played in 11 contests with the Knicks before appearing in 39 tilts for the Clippers. It was the third time that Randolph averaged 20 points and 10 boards in a season, with 2003-04 and 2006-07 being the other cases.

The Grizzlies came into the summer with an abundance of cap room, and they swapped Darko Milicic for Richardson on June 25. Randolph is due $33.3 million over the next two seasons, and he fills a couple of huge needs for the young squad. The Grizzlies finished last in the NBA with 38.8 rebounds in 2008-09, and they lacked a big body at power forward. Darrell Arthur and Hakim Warrick are more slender talents.

Randolph has been a 20-10 producer in three different seasons.
Randolph also gives the Grizz an established low-post scorer. He should start alongside Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, and Marc Gasol, and, on paper, that starting lineup looks pretty solid. The bench will feature big parts in Arthur, Warrick, Hasheem Thabeet, and DeMarre Carroll, and any further free agent signings will almost certainly come in the backcourt.

Alas, there is a negative side to this addition. Randolph doesn't bring much defense to the table, shoots a fairly low percentage for a post player (career 46.6 percent), and averages more turnovers (2.2) than assists (1.7) in his career. He is also not a high-character talent, which is why the Blazers, Knicks and Clippers have all passed him along. His most recent issue came on February 17, when Randolph introduced Louis Amundson's face to his fist. Zach hasn't played for a playoff team since 2002-03, when he was mainly a bench player (16.9 minutes) for the Blazers.

The Grizzlies may be better on the court with Randolph, and the Beale Street business may also rake in more money next season.

This trade was a no-brainer for the Clippers. They drafted power forward Blake Griffin with the No. 1 overall pick, and Randolph would have blocked the rookie's path. Griffin was the prized jewel in the 2009 class, and he is now clear to turn into a double-double machine.

The move should also save the Clippers cap room, although we may not have all the details at this point. Richardson is due to earn $8.7 million in the final season of his deal. His stock has dropped sharply since he averaged 17.3 points for the Clippers in 2003-04. Richardson will come off the bench behind Eric Gordon and Al Thornton, and he may need to fight Ricky Davis for minutes. Unless your fantasy team badly needs threes next season, Richardson won't have any value.

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