Flirting with Disaster
The Los Angeles Clippers seem to want to fail. They've lost Elton Brand and now apparently think that a suitable replacement would be Zach Randolph. There couldn't be a worse move out there (Okay, I'm sure Elgin Baylor could find a worse one but this one's really bad).
The issues with Zach are many and well-documented but the most important one is that the man simply doesn't help his teams win. He doesn't help in the locker room or on the court. He's essentially a younger version of Shareef Abdur-Rahim who was equally adept at raking in 20/10 and lottery picks. With all of the young talent still available, it really makes no sense to waste cap space on Randolph and his exorbitant salary. Thankfully, Donnie Walsh is saving the Clippers from making this mistake by making a mistake of his own.
The New York Knicks got Zach for an underwhelming Channing Frye and the corpse of Steve Francis. After this past disaster in MSG, I'm not sure how Walsh could think he's going to get something better than that offer. And to be honest, cap space alone is a better offer than what the Knicks gave up. The Clippers are supposedly offering a second round pick which isn't bad seeing that it should be a decent one if Randolph lands at LAX. And while I understand that Walsh might hope that he could get something more for Randolph, there comes a point when you just have to cut your losses and move on. That time is now, especially if they can get immediate salary relief.
The Clippers need to focus on bringing in some of the young free agents like Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Carl Landry. or Nenad Krstic and avoid the disaster that is Z-Bo.
