Quentin Richardson

Quentin Richardson will now be posing in a T'Wolves uniform...well maybe.

David Kahn made another trade Monday afternoon when he sent PG Sebastian Telfair and Forwards Craig Smith and Mark Madsen packing to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for veteran SG Quentin Richardson. With this trade, Kahn once again has made a strong point that he is doing everything he can to reshape the Timberwolves roster. It is unknown if the Wolves will keep Richardson, who has ironically already been traded three times this offseason, but right now his services would be a nice addition to a very young team. The Wolves are in serious need of a perimeter player with some veteran experience and Richardson could help fill that void for the time being.

Departing from the Wolves will be three players that were well liked in Minnesota, but because of logjams at certain positions were no longer needed on the roster. Telfair in particular, looked to be gone the moment after the 2009 NBA Draft after the Wolves selected two point guards with their top picks. One of those top picks, Jonny Flynn looked superb this past week in the Las Vegas Summer League and that probably made this trade a lot easier to make. David Kahn in a press conference noted that the Clippers wanted Telfair (……??? Remember folks is the Clippers) and that he felt the timing was right to send Telfair packing. Telfair’s time in Minnesota comes with mixed reviews, but it’s safe to say that his departure was necessary with Flynn and Rubio on board. Telfair at best is a back-up point guard in this league and he will now play that role with the Clippers where he will back-up Baron Davis.

It’s tough see a hard-nosed guy like Craig Smith go especially when we drafted him in the 2nd Round and turned him into a solid NBA back-up. Smith is great guy and teammate, but unfortunately he also plays the same position as our two best players, Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Like Telfair, you could see his departure coming a mile away. The good news for Craig is that he will now play closer to home as he is a Cali boy.

Finally but not least, Mark Madsen will no longer grace us with his presence in his practice gear on the Timberwolves bench. Mad Dog is a great community guy, but his contract was so hard to look at,  I can’t help but be happy that he is no longer a T’Wolf.

Trade Grades

Timberwolves B | The T’Wolves got rid of three very average players who were no longer in the team’s future plans and in return got a solid NBA starter in Quentin Richardson who’s contract will expire after this season allowing the Wolves to free up more cap room.

Clippers A- | I like this trade a lot for the Clippers simply because they got three players in exchange for one. The Clippers won’t take a big hit salary wise and all three of these players should provide nice depth for this up and coming team in the West.