Zach Randolph still not officially a Clipper, yet

"Elton Brand isn't better than me, anyway," he said, playfully.

The question is: Will Clippers fans get to find that out?

Nothing is ever simple around here in the world of the Clippers, and why should their four-player deal with the Knicks be any different?

The power forward, Randolph, and guard Mardy Collins were acquired on Friday from the Knicks in exchange for shooting guard Cuttino Mobley and forward Tim Thomas when the Clippers were in Philadelphia to play against Brand and the 76ers.

Now there is a holdup in the deal because it appears the Knicks have some additional questions about Mobley's existing heart condition, which has never caused him to miss any games or any extended period of time. The Knicks have raised concerns about his health and have yet to sign off on the deal, according to a source familiar with the situation but not authorized to discuss it publicly.

It is believed all four players involved in the trade have had physicals, and the Knicks were merely seeking more medical information. They have until 3:30 p.m. today to sign off on the trade.

The Clippers had hoped that Randolph and Collins would be in uniform for the game against New Orleans at Staples Center, a 99-87 Hornets victory behind forward David West's 27 points and Chris Paul's triple-double (14 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds). The Clippers are 2-12.

"We're confident that both of our players will be in uniform on Wednesday," said Clippers President Andy Roeser.

None of the four is eligible to play for his new team, or even practice, until the trade is finalized. Clippers Coach and General Manager Mike Dunleavy had said when the trade was made that Monday would be the earliest the players would be available.

Dunleavy was asked whether Mobley's heart condition had ever posed a problem when he was with the Clippers.

"Never. All I know is if he has had anything, he has been asymptomatic," Dunleavy said. "He's never had any issue with us. There's never been one time he's missed a practice, missed a game. . . . I don't really know. From the standpoint of all our guys and all our medicals, there haven't been any issues for us. I was told by our doctors that the things of concern are not something we haven't known about or had any issues with."