Clippers Go to the Limit on Richardson

While the Clippers continued to sort through their options, Quentin Richardson and the Phoenix Suns awaited word Wednesday on whether the Clippers plan to hang onto Richardson or let him go.

Richardson, a restricted free agent, signed a six-year, $42.6-million offer sheet with the Suns two weeks ago. The Clippers must decide today whether they want to match the offer or lose the rights to the 6-foot-5 guard, their third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder last season.

Spurned by Kobe Bryant, who had been their top priority this summer, the Clippers have spent two weeks sifting through other possibilities, among them a trade that would bring guard Kerry Kittles from the New Jersey Nets.

Meanwhile, Richardson and the Suns have had little choice but to sit idle, the Suns’ money tied up and Richardson’s fate not his to decide.

“At this point, we have no idea what the Clippers’ ultimate decision will be,” Bryan Colangelo, the Suns’ general manager, said near the end of business Wednesday, later adding that he didn’t suspect he’d know before today.

Asked about the uncertainty, Colangelo said, “The only difficult aspect is having other scenarios, other options, kind of in a holding pattern, a few deals that you may have considered perhaps already moving past.

“But when you go into this process, you’re aware of the risk, you’re aware of the opportunity and strategically you make that decision [to move forward] being aware of all that.

“So you deal with the consequences as they’re dealt.”

The Clippers said much the same thing as they pursued Bryant, who re-signed with the Lakers two weeks ago.

When Richardson signed with the Suns, NBA rules gave the Clippers a 15-day window to match. And the Clippers, about $14 million under the salary cap after clearing out space to pursue Bryant, apparently were determined to use every minute of it to see whether they could find a better option.

If they found none, they knew they could turn back to the 24-year-old Richardson, who averaged career highs of 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season, his fourth with the Clippers and first as a full-time starter.

But Richardson, while leading the team in attempts, made fewer than 40% of his shots last season and leaves something to be desired as a defender.

He said on the day he signed with the Suns that he hoped the Clippers wouldn’t match, that he was ready to move on. “I just hope that I get ultimately what I want,” he said, “which is to play for the Phoenix Suns.”

Last week, though, he seemed to soften a little, saying of the Clippers, “I feel like my worst-case scenario is still a good situation for me.”

Asked Wednesday evening whether he had any idea where he might end up, Richardson said, “To be honest with you, I have no clue.”