Ricky Davis headed to Miami.

Minnesota made the deal so they can open up playing time for their young guards, like Roy and Green plus they will probably save some money with a buyout.

Roy? you mean Foye right?

I always get those two mixed up.

And acquiring Antoine Walker helps you long term how? The pick could be beneficial, but to my understanding it's a conditional pick, which likely means if it's high enough be of any real value, Miami probably keeps it. And you can only stockpile youth for so long. Eventually you need to bring in some vets to win. Plus, Ricky Davis has the expiring contract. McHale might have actually been able to get a decent player for him.

Only conditional the next two seasons.

Minnesota's number one priority is development. If it was to win games, they would of traded KG for Marion or Odom.

Antoine Walkers contract has a team option after this upcoming season, so it's the same as an expiring.

And believe it or not, Walker isn't a team cancer. He shoots frequently, but he has a college championship and a nba championship. Not many players can say that.

But most importantly this clears up room for minutes at the swingman positions for the twolves. Walker will probably start at pf, Jefferson at C unless if Walker is bought out.

Either way this was a good trade by the Twolves.

Miami Could Have $21 Million In Expiring Contracts Next Summer. (RealGM)

If they could sign Arenas, Miami would be a team-to-beat in the East.. They need a decent young center.. Blount is good of-course. But the Wade-Arenas back-court is more than scary...

arenas is staying where he is, they could improve by alot next season however

Ricky Davis is one of the most interesting players in the NBA to me. He is a pretty good scorer who could be a 3rd scorer on an excellent team. Everyone knows he's a cancer, but in the last 3 or 4 years he hasn't really done anything noteworthy.

I think he must be a really terrible teammate and lockerroom guy.

Only conditional the next two seasons.

Still, I'd like to know the specifics of the pick before I speculate about its value.

Minnesota's number one priority is development. If it was to win games, they would of traded KG for Marion or Odom.

Well, the end goal of development is to win games. Trading KG for Odom or Marion wouldn't have put Minny in a better position than they would have been if they kept KG, or than they are in now.

Antoine Walkers contract has a team option after this upcoming season, so it's the same as an expiring.

Wrong. His contract is guaranteed through the 08-09 season, with a team option for 09-10.

And believe it or not, Walker isn't a team cancer. He shoots frequently, but he has a college championship and a nba championship. Not many players can say that.

Not many players can lay claim to having shot <40% FG, <30% 3PT, and <50% FT in the same season, either. Team cancer or not, Antione Walker is a horrible player, one of the worst in the NBA.

But most importantly this clears up room for minutes at the swingman positions for the twolves. Walker will probably start at pf, Jefferson at C unless if Walker is bought out.

Either way this was a good trade by the Twolves.

True, it clears up minutes at SG/SF, but for who? The Wolves already got rid of Hassell, presumably to open up minutes for Brewer. They're also not too fond of Telfair, so I don't envision him playing all that much, which means Foye will be running the point quite often, which means he won't be taking many minutes at SG. So, if the Wolves kept Davis as their starting SG, there would still be ample minutes available at SF for Green, and at least backup minutes for McCants at SG (probably close to 20 MPG, since Davis' career average is 30 MPG). So who are the extra minutes going to? Marco Jaric? Additionally, all those minutes would have been available next year when Davis' contract ran out. If it were me, I would have held on to Davis, and tried to move him closer to the trade deadline to a contending team looking to add a final piece, or a team fighting for a playoff spot looking for a push, in exchange for either a good young player, or an expiring contract & draft pick.

At first I was thinking this would make sense if Minny buys out Walker, but then why not just buy out Blount? They have similar contracts, with the exception of the team option for the final year, so it wouldn't have been much more expensive to buy out Blount. Minny could have then moved Davis for something of value, instead of Fatoine and a protected pick. So, I still don't think it was a good trade, at least not by your criteria. The only reason I think it's a good trade is because apparently Blount and Jefferson didn't get along, which I did not know when I offered my original analysis of the trade. And even considering that, there's probably better things the Wolves could have done.

True, it clears up minutes at SG/SF, but for who? The Wolves already got rid of Hassell, presumably to open up minutes for Brewer. They're also not too fond of Telfair, so I don't envision him playing all that much, which means Foye will be running the point quite often, which means he won't be taking many minutes at SG. So, if the Wolves kept Davis as their starting SG, there would still be ample minutes available at SF for Green, and at least backup minutes for McCants at SG (probably close to 20 MPG, since Davis' career average is 30 MPG). So who are the extra minutes going to? Marco Jaric? Additionally, all those minutes would have been available next year when Davis' contract ran out. If it were me, I would have held on to Davis, and tried to move him closer to the trade deadline to a contending team looking to add a final piece, or a team fighting for a playoff spot looking for a push, in exchange for either a good young player, or an expiring contract & draft pick.

Youngin's Rashad McCants, Corey Brewer, Gerald Green, Randy Foye, Craig Smith and Ryan Gomes are plenty of reason to trade a guy that while may be a good player, isn't useful in Minny's situation. They need development right now, not wins. All these guys project to be very good players, if they can get the playing time.

Wrong. His contract is guaranteed through the 08-09 season, with a team option for 09-10.

The whole thing about Antoine's contract staying for another 2 seasons doesn't really matter. They won't need to be spending money for another two seasons anyway, and when Antoine's contract expires, so does the massive contract Juwan Howard has. It's all about timing, and they don't need the money for a while yet. Theo Ratliff's $11 mil contract expires after this season, so they didn't really need the money from Ricky's contract this offseason. They opened up time for their young guys, got rid of Blount's terrible contract, got a first round pick and a large contract that will expire right when they need it - when they're younger guys need extensions, all for trading Ricky Davis. When you factor in the problem with Ricky - the fact he is simply taking minutes from the guys who need them, it looks like a no-brainer to me.

I don't think Minny needed yet another good young player. They have a huge stockpile in potential, guys like - Gerald Green, Randy Foye, Craig Smith, Rashad McCants, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and Corey Brewer. That's plenty of talent, and adding another young guy (which probably wouldn't be that promising if you got him for Ricky Davis) would probably be an overload and no one would get their minutes.

At first I was thinking this would make sense if Minny buys out Walker, but then why not just buy out Blount? They have similar contracts, with the exception of the team option for the final year, so it wouldn't have been much more expensive to buy out Blount. Minny could have then moved Davis for something of value, instead of Fatoine and a protected pick. So, I still don't think it was a good trade, at least not by your criteria. The only reason I think it's a good trade is because apparently Blount and Jefferson didn't get along, which I did not know when I offered my original analysis of the trade. And even considering that, there's probably better things the Wolves could have done.

I don't know much about the business side of things, but I don't think a contract just "expires" when you buy it out. I think it still counts against your cap for the remainder of however long the contract had left on it, but the amount is determined by how much the player was bought out for. So if Blount's $22 mil contract is bought out for say, $14 mil, that will still count against the cap, but spread out over the next three seasons (which was how long was left on it) seasons. So they'd have a three year contract on their hands which averages out to $4.6 mil a year, and it expires after 09/10.

Or they could just buy out Walker and get their cap relief much sooner, but most importantly, right when they need it.

Youngin's Rashad McCants, Corey Brewer, Gerald Green, Randy Foye, Craig Smith and Ryan Gomes are plenty of reason to trade a guy that while may be a good player, isn't useful in Minny's situation. They need development right now, not wins. All these guys project to be very good players, if they can get the playing time.

Well, there already was plenty of minutes for the wing players (Brewer, Green, McCants, Foye), and adding Walker only muddies things up for Smith and Gomes, so that's a bit of a wash. Also, Walker could possibly see time at SF, so he could still be eating into PT for some guys.

Theo Ratliff's $11 mil contract expires after this season, so they didn't really need the money from Ricky's contract this offseason.

Have you seen next year's crop of free agents? I'd sure love to have $18 million to throw at Brand, or Arenas, etc.

I don't think Minny needed yet another good young player. They have a huge stockpile in potential, guys like - Gerald Green, Randy Foye, Craig Smith, Rashad McCants, Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair and Corey Brewer. That's plenty of talent, and adding another young guy (which probably wouldn't be that promising if you got him for Ricky Davis) would probably be an overload and no one would get their minutes.

I pretty much agree with you, but that's all a first round pick is - a potentially good young player. And I think that come trade deadline, when teams are looking for that final piece to secure a playoff spot or vault into contender status, Ricky Davis' scoring would increase in value, meaning you might actually be able to get reasonable player in return.

Considering the Jefferson-Blount issues, this is a good deal, but IMO it's the only reason why this is a good deal.

Also, let's not overlook the fact that Minnesota traded for Antione Walker. Any way you slice it, that's pretty fucking stupid.

Well, there already was plenty of minutes for the wing players (Brewer, Green, McCants, Foye), and adding Walker only muddies things up for Smith and Gomes, so that's a bit of a wash. Also, Walker could possibly see time at SF, so he could still be eating into PT for some guys.

If McHale is smart, which he is not, he'll buy him out or sit him alot. You gotta admit, getting Antoine who figures to barely play leaves far more minutes than keeping your starting center and small forward.

Have you seen next year's crop of free agents? I'd sure love to have $18 million to throw at Brand, or Arenas, etc.

$18mil might net them Elton Brand, but do they really wanna throw all that money at him when even with him they aren't gonna compete, and that money could of been used to extend their young guys?

I'd rather take my chances with the young guys and keep them than lose the young guys, get Elton and be in and out of contention for the 8th seed for a few seasons, especially since they probably won't be contenders till Brand is around 32, which is when he'll be on the decline.

I pretty much agree with you, but that's all a first round pick is - a potentially good young player. And I think that come trade deadline, when teams are looking for that final piece to secure a playoff spot or vault into contender status, Ricky Davis' scoring would increase in value, meaning you might actually be able to get reasonable player in return.

Or trade bait, or a replacement for one of the young guys after he get's a chance to show his worth this season because of the Davis move, eg. Gerald Green.

I have no doubts that they could have gotten a better player for Davis. But that's not the point. This was a business/development move. They may of been able to get a slightly better deal for the same reasons come the deadline, but I don't think it would of been so great to warrant holding off and keep those young gusys relegated to the bench. What if Dorrell Wright broke out and Miami was happy with their team? They'd be stuck with Davis for the rest of the season, and far more importantly, stuck with Blount's huge contract.

Also, let's not overlook the fact that Minnesota traded for Antione Walker. Any way you slice it, that's pretty fucking stupid.

I think you're completely overlooking that:

A) This was a business move - ensuring money to keep their young players in Minnesota

B) This gives the young players a chance to actually play

Note: I'm a big fan of Ricky Davis. I hate Antoine Walker's fat, lazy, three point shooting, incredibly in-efficeint ass.

But Miami did this deal to fill a need and to win now. Minnesota did this deal for business and the future.

Both teams got a good deal.

I'd rather take my chances with the young guys and keep them than lose the young guys

Why would they be required to lose the young guys if they had not traded Davis and Blount?

I'm talking about after the Davis trade, referring to paying out all this money for Brand which could go towards extensions for the younger guys.

this is what will happen.....

Walker gets released and signs with Boston, hehehe

Yeah,i heard that rumors too.

I also heard a rumor that Michael Jordan is coming out of retirement to play for the Bobcats.

I also heard a rumor that Michael Jordan is coming out of retirement to play for the Bobcats.

i heard LA. said something about his ambition in life was to back up kobe bryant

I think the deal's like a lot of trades these days: it looks a bit weird on paper and even when you delve a bit deeper it doesn't seem like an ideal swap for both teams, but there's logic in there somewhere.

From Minnesota's point of view, they got rid of a player who is a capable scorer but isn't likely to step aside for any of their up and coming players and has established a reputation as a team cancer. He's obviously not in their longterm plans so they've moved him when the opportunity arose. Following on from Sauru's point about Walker being an easier player to bench, I'd suggest he's a player the Timberwolves would be more comfortable cutting loose with no compensation. If he does anything for the Timberwolves it'll be a plus, otherwise at worst they'll have to pay out his contract for a couple of years while in the meantime they've ridded themselves of a player they don't want and picked up a draft pick that may or may not yield a useful player.

It's a similar situation in Miami given that Walker seemed to have pretty much worn out his welcome, except that with Wade out for the first few weeks of the season and key role players leaving the Heat's bench this offseason, Davis is more likely to stick around and see some decent PT. Davis is also a free agent at the end of the year so if things don't work out he could attract trade offers as an expiring contract or at the very least come off the books at the end of the year.

At the very least, both teams were able to ship out unwanted players and got someone in return who might possibly bring something to the table for them, neither of whom are locked up for outrageous contracts for another five or six years.

This really is a nice trade...watching him play now.His play is good.

Timberwolves are trying to clear out some of the bad blood we had in the locker room. That's why Hudson is gone as well. Apparently, Ricky Davis was refusing to help cover defensively for some guys last year and they probably don't want that kind of attitude to be around the young guys such as Brewer and Gomes.

That's just my guess. Not to mention the team can dump Mark Blount who is a great shooter but brings nothing else to the table. He worked well with Garnett just because Garnett was such a great passer he would get a lot of open shots. The first round pick and dumping Blount's contract are the advantages of this trade for Minnesota. Miami gets another scorer to help their push for a title.

Let me tell you this about Ricky though. He has heart and he'll dive on the floor for loose balls and full court press the opposing team's ball handler. Wolves had some success putting Ricky on guys like Steve Nash because he can stay in front of the quicker guys and he plays physical and aggressive so it gets in their head. He doesn't have very high basketball IQ but he's good for a 3rd or 4th option offensively. He is expiring after this year so if it doesn't work out for Miami they can just let him walk.

Ricky just needs the right coach to set him straight, ala Pat Riley!

did i see Walker play for Minny? i thought they'd cut him, but maybe a trade is looming by deadline time. Theres no point in having him around.

Walker will probably be cut before he's traded. I don't see any teams going after him unless he's part of a package with one of the Timberwolves' young players and they're probably in no hurry to put them on the table.

Yeah, 'Toine has played in the first two games for the Wolves this year but he really doesn't fit in very well. He plays very little and with the second unit so I can't imagine he is very happy right now. I just don't see him fitting in for the entire season.

I personally don't like Davis or Walker. Davis is better I guess. That guy can dunk!