Walsh better not "Isiah" himself out of this deal. In other words, dont get too greedy and miss an opportunity, perhaps the only oppportunity to move Zach. I dont see many if any other opportunities to move him. Hoipefully, Walsh is going to talk to them again.

Alan Hahn says Walsh is trying to get Eric Gordon in the deal.

Posted by Ira:

One minor player I'd like from the Clippers is a restricted free agent - Nick Fazekas. He was a 2nd round pick a year ago and did pretty well off the bench. His scoring and rebounding were very good for the number of minutes he plays. He's not much better defensively than Zach or our other bigs. Maybe we can also pull out their second round pick.

I like this. We wouldn't be asking for too much here on paper. And I think Fazekas has a chance to be a decent player. Unlike Channing Frye, he's a big man that can score & shoot it from deep AND actual rebound the basketball ball as well. Last time I saw him he looked very thin but he could add muscle and strength with the right program. D'Antoni would like this kid's potential. Nice call Ira...

Just to expand on the whole Alan Hahn thing that Phil said earlier..

Alan Hahn of Newsday reports that trade discussions between the Knicks and Clippers about Zach Randolph could be ongoing.

It may be that Donnie Walsh is holding out for the Clippers to include Eric Gordon, the Indiana guard who was the 7th pick in this year's draft, in exchange for Randolph.

Because the Clippers are under the salary cap, the teams would not have to match contracts in the deal.

Hahn's source tells him that Walsh has been "very active" in trade talks and is "looking at these types of transactions constantly."

Posted by PhilinLA:

Alan Hahn says Walsh is trying to get Eric Gordon in the deal.

If this is true, then Walsh is getting greedy and might outbid himself out of this deal. Why would the Clips give up a 7th pick plus others for Randolph? Thats too much. The trade exception plus a contract that expires during or before 2010 and maybe a second round pick should be fine. The objective is to move Randolphs contract off the books over tyring to get young talent etc.

Posted by Finestrg:

Posted by Ira:

One minor player I'd like from the Clippers is a restricted free agent - Nick Fazekas. He was a 2nd round pick a year ago and did pretty well off the bench. His scoring and rebounding were very good for the number of minutes he plays. He's not much better defensively than Zach or our other bigs. Maybe we can also pull out their second round pick.

I like this. We wouldn't be asking for too much here on paper. And I think Fazekas has a chance to be a decent player. Unlike Channing Frye, he's a big man that can score & shoot it from deep AND actual rebound the basketball ball as well. Last time I saw him he looked very thin but he could add muscle and strength with the right program. D'Antoni would like this kid's potential. Nice call Ira...

Forget all this Eric Gordon stuff. If there's any truth to this at all, Walsh is being rediculous and unrealistic. Walsh is crazy if he thinks they're gonna give up Gordon in a Zach trade. If you think about it, Nick Fazekas plus a 2nd rounder might be a better overall package talent-wise than what Portland got from us (Steve Francis=washed up/Channing Frye=bust) when we acquired him. But what Pritchard wanted the most, he got - immense cap room. Look, I've been a big proponent of not trading Zach for nothing and not including our lottery pick in any deal just to dump him. I'm glad we didn't do that - that would've been nuts - whether Gallo ever lives up to any kind of hype or not, that would've just been bad business.

Zach has value. Selfishness and non-existent defense aside, he's a 20/10 guy that's still fairly young. It's this God-awful contract of his that makes him almost untradeable. Kevin Pritchard understood that going in to his talks with Isiah and eventually dumped him on us for basically nothing. But he had a good plan - he had his replacement ready to go in LaMarcus Aldridge and he got the valuable cap room that he wanted. We might not have a LaMarcus Aldridge waiting in the wings but like some of you have suggested, Zach's departure will definitely have a positive effect on Eddy Curry. And the more Curry produces the better chance we have of moving him if we decide we need to. And, similar to Portland, we get the cap relief we need to start turning this thing around.

I commend Walsh for holding out for more, but with such a willing (and somewhat desperate after losing Brand) partner in the Clippers, I wouldn't exactly hold out for the moon here. You do this deal that Ira came up with and you don't look back.... I think Fazekas and a 2nd rounder is decent value for Zach, all things considering...

[Edited by - finestrg on 07-12-2008 12:00 PM]

I think there's quite a bit of overreaction here:

1) Walsh has been fielding quite a few offers from Zach
2) Walsh knows what he has on the table for Zach and is waiting to see if he can leverage it for more. If not he knows what he can get back to.

It's still July for pete's sake.

Posted by umynot:

Fizekas and a 2nd rounder is fair value? Come on!!! Why was Brand so valuable? Brand was injured last year! Achilles mind you and he was chased like he was the prom queen!

I will say that Brand is the better of the 2 but if you go by #'s Zach aint far off! Ok off court issues! But i have been to L.A and Oakland and believe me the are not Bible Belt! They just wanna win and now that Brand is signed we should see Zach as an asset!

Dont get greedy but dont act desperate!

Dude, Zach Randolph and Elton Brand are in different universes and Zach is nowhere close to Brand's.

furthermore,

if LA is interested in dealing for zach then they may have been the source of this info knowing the 1st reaction of the ny fanbase and media would be "he did what...walsh is an idiot, fire him!!!!" without knowing 1 iota of what was actually being negotiated just to put pressure on walsh to do whateva deal they r proposing.

Posted by MS:

There numbers aren't really all that close, however they have been losers most of their careers

2.1blks 20.1 10.1rb 2.4ass BRAND
0.3blks 17.9 9.8rbs 1.2ass ZACH

Brand is great in the community Zach is felon, and can't guard anyone while brand is one of the better shot blockers out there. No chance Walsh is asking for Eric Gordon, if that is true Donnie is dumber than anyone can imagine, with Smith and Okafur out there, the Clipps can just make an offer you think the Bobcasts or Hawks would match a four year 60 million deal, the clips would be much better off because if Gordon hangs on the wing with Davis going to the rack he is going to be open all day long

Brand is 30 and Zach is 26.

No way Clippers give us Gordon for RAndolph. Not with Okafor and Smith still available. If the Clippers are willing to include Jordan in the offer, then we have to jump at that. We can then work on resigning Lee before the season and perhaps get him at a cheaper price than what he will cost after a season of starting.