FanHouse MardyCollins

Concerns about Cuttino Mobley's ticker couldn't kill the big Zach Randolph trade. The Associated Press reports that the swap -- Randolph and Mardy Collins for Tim Thomas and Mobley -- has been made official by the league. Thomas will play for the Knicks tonight, and I suspect Z-Bo will suit up as well.

The cynical surmised Donnie Walsh might be biting back against Clippers boss Mike Dunleavy, who reportedly sprung a surprise when the two were negotiating a summertime Z-Bo trade. (The Basketball Jones had a good discussion on this earlier.) Who knews if Walsh was indeed angling for a pick or cash considerations; the eventual result makes it seem more honest than anything, though.

Regardless, we can get back to what's really important now: LeBron's red shoes!

The other sneaker has fallen: Ramona Shelbourne of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Zach Randolph is a Los Angeles Clipper. Mardy Collins will join Z-Bo in Southern California. Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley, two fellows who have contracts which expire in 2010, will become Knickerbockers.

In case you're wondering: as of today, Donnie Walsh has roughly $33 million of cap space to work with in the Summer of 2010, when the entire league (small exaggeration) is up for unrestricted free agency. Only Eddy Curry, Wilson Chandler, Jared Jeffries and Danilo Gallinari are under contract for the 2010-11 season. A max player in with 7-8 years of NBA experience (that covers LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Amare) will earn a salary at 30% of the salary cap -- expected to come out to a $20 million starting salary. Walsh can add one of those plus have about $13 million to tinker around the edges with, so to speak. (Joe Johnson, anyone?) Today is a great day to be a Knicks fan. (Know any who survived last season?)

Meanwhile in L.A., the Clippers now have three big men earning a total of $35 million this year. You assume the Clips won't flip Z-Bo. Chris Kaman's name has been all over the fishwrap lately -- does Mike Dunleavy have a deal in place to get a swingman back? Marcus Camby could also be bait; he has been completely anonymous on the court for the Clips. I just don't see L.A. keeping all these mammoths around for long, not with a massive, gaping hole at the two-guard. (Collins -- best known as the guy Isiah Thomas anointed the starter over Stephon Marbury one fateful road trip last winter-- and Ricky Davis are the fellows at that position with two-guard of the future Eric Gordon, who Clips fans consider unfit for a starter role at this time.)

On Tuesday, the news broke that Isiah Thomas was contemplating how to reduce Stephon Marbury's role with the Knicks. It was something of a surprise and seemingly caught Marbury off-guard, too -- the suddenly embattled point guard promptly left his teammates in Phoenix to catch a plane back to New York.

Confusion reigned as the media tried to play catch up: did Marbury go AWOL? Would he be bought out? Traded? Has he played his last game as a Knick? While most of those questions are still unanswered, Marbury did want to clear something up: he didn't leave the team without permission. Soon after his plane landed, he text-messaged the New York Post:

Marbury landed in New York about 4 p.m. and said in the message to The Post, "I have one thing to say, and that's I got permission to leave. I would never leave my team on my own. What I'm telling you is that I got permission to leave from Isiah. He said I could go home. God bless. Peace be with you."

Marbury added he was not expecting to join the team in Los Angeles tomorrow night.

"No, I'm not coming to LA as of now," he said.

Interesting. Thomas has told the media that Marbury is "welcome" to return, but the fact he also granted permission for Marbury to leave would seem to indicate that he's not necessarily torn up about the absence. That may soon change, though, as Mardy Collins, Marbury's replacement in the starting lineup, lasted just six minutes before leaving Tuesday's game with a sprained ankle. The Knicks, who were also without Zach Randolph (death in the family) and Quentin Richardson (hyperextended elbow) hung in with the Suns for a while but were no match in the end, losing 113-102.