LOS ANGELES -- Sebastian Telfair's winter clothes are packed away untouched in his garage.
"Don't need those anymore," he said.
He doesn't now that he's living in Los Angeles and playing for the Clippers after the Minnesota Timberwolves decided to go forth with rookie point guard Jonny Flynn and free-agent signee Ramon Sessions.
Telfair and Craig Smith met their former teammates in Monday night's 93-90 victory over the Timberwolves at Staples Center four months after David Kahn traded them and Mark Madsen away for now-forgotten Quentin Richardson in a trade all about creating roster spots and salary-cap flexibility.
Kahn did so because he had determined that neither Telfair nor Smith would be part of the franchise's long-term future. Telfair was expendable after Kahn drafted point guards Ricky Rubio and Flynn with the fifth and sixth in last summer's draft.
So was Smith, after Kahn had assessed the Wolves already were too short and an undersized reserve power forward, not matter how powerful he might be, was a luxury they could not afford.
On Monday, center Chris Kaman's 25 points and 11 rebounds and Rasual Butler's four consecutive free throws in the final 20 seconds allowed the Clippers to outlast the Wolves on a night when Corey Brewer's desperation three-point heave that would have tied the game sailed wide right at the buzzer.
The Clippers, playing without injured No. 1 overall draft pick Blake Griffin, won for the first time this season after an 0-4 start.
The Wolves fell to 1-3 and have lost three consecutive games after an opening-night comeback victory over New Jersey.
Smith had nine points and Telfair six off the bench.
Somebody asked Smith before Monday's game if a fellow with a body that warrants the nickname "Rhino" can do cartwheels. He joked that he tried a backflip when he learned he had been traded to his hometown of Los Angeles, even if it meant leaving a place where he spent his three pro seasons and made memories.
Telfair, acquired by the Wolves in July 2007 as part of the Kevin Garnett trade with Boston, didn't have the same reaction because he grew up in New York City, not Los Angeles.
"I didn't feel too good about it," Telfair said before the game when asked about the trade. "I mean, I loved being in Minnesota. They put a lot into the development of my game and my career. I wish I could have stayed there. ... Life isn't always rosy, but you've got to roll with it."
By trading Telfair, Kahn cleared an extra $2.7 million off the salary cap for the 2010-11 season. He also said he considered it the best move for Telfair since Kahn had committed by drafted Rubio and Flynn to two rookie point guards.
The equation later changed when Rubio decided to stay in Spain and Kahn quickly signed Sessions to fill a roster hole with Telfair already traded to Los Angeles.
"I thought Sebastian would be unhappy playing behind a rookie or two at the time and it was important to recognize," Kahn said.
Smith's contract expires next summer, and Kahn concluded there was no room for a 6-6 power forward on a team that already had undersized Al Jefferson and Kevin Love in the frontcourt.
"As you know, we're short," Kahn said. "We're not a lengthy team."
Kaman exploited that shortcoming Monday night with those 25 points and 11 rebounds.
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