Over the course of his nine year NBA career, 6’9″ power forward Mark Madsen is known for one thing: bad dancing. Madsen, who has averaged just over 10 minutes a game throughout his career, is more known for his bad dancing at the 2001 and 2002 Laker championship parades than anything he has done on the court. But despite his lack of on the court achievements, Madsen will be returning to Los Angeles as a member of the Clippers.

Yesterday, the Clippers traded Quentin Richardson to Minnesota for the Mad Dog, former Lottery Pick Sebastian Telfair, and an undersized but effective power forward in Craig Smith.

“We are really excited to add these three players to our team,” Clippers General Manager and Head Coach Mike Dunleavy said in the team’s official press release. “This move really gives some much needed depth.”

While Madsen may not get too many Clipper fans to renew their season ticket packages, it is clear that the Clippers did get the best player in the 4 player trade, Inglewood native Craig Smith. Last season, Smith averaged 10.1 points per game and had a PER of 16.4 in addition to his career shooting percentage of approximately 60%. His addition the frontcourt, along with Madsen, makes the Clippers a much deeper team. But it also makes their 7’0″ center Chris Kaman expendable.

The Clippers also receive an intriguing point guard prospect in Telfair, who has bounced around the league despite being a former NBA Lottery pick. With Baron Davis‘s history of injury troubles and Mike Taylor’s shaky summer league performance, Telfair gives LA an instant upgrade at point guard and some much needed depth. 

This deal doesn’t make the Clippers instant contenders in the Western Conference, but it does give them a chance to be more competitive when the season starts in November.

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