Well, of course not. But what do Darko Milicic, Zack Randolph, Sebastian Telfair, Mark Madsen and Craig Smith have in common? All were traded for Q Richardson at some point over the last month.
The Knicks dealt Q to the Grizzlies for Milicic on June 25th. Almost right after that deal, the Grizzlies dealt Q to the Clippers for Randolph (the trade wasn't finalized until last Friday). Now the Clippers are sending him to the Timberwolves for Telfair, Madsen and Smith.
Richardson is the classic "contract year player". After averaging around 10 ppg during his first three years with the Clippers, Q erupted for 17.1 ppg. He would use that momentum to sign a huge six year deal for $46M with the Phoenix Suns. Just one year into that deal, Phoenix shipped him out to New York for Kurt Thomas. And, well, ya know that nothing good has come out of the Knicks since then.
He's so popular now because of his contract. That big deal he signed in 2004 ends after the upcoming season. So that's another $9M in cap space a team could get from him. The Knicks dealt that opportunity away for another expiring contract. Milicic's salary will be off the books after the season, too, and he plays a need position for New York. No one knows what Memphis was thinking by dealing Q away for Zack Randolph's bad contract ($33M over the next two years) ... though it could pay off down the road.
This new deal (which isn't official yet) would mean Q goes to a Wolves team that could actually use him. None of the other teams needed him. Also, it gives the Clippers a few backup pieces with Madsen and Smith's contracts expiring this year and Telfair with a player option next year.
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