Wally/Davis deal - Basketball

by **Rob Graff** on Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:18 am

Opinions on this trade? I think the Davis/Wally exchange is a lateral move. Thus, my initial thought is that MN got screwed.

1. Gave up expiring contract

2. Gave up #1 draft pick

3. Took on more salary (i.e. Blount's long term deal)

But most Boston fans posting on various sites think Ainge should be drawn and quartered.

Does the conflicting view mean that it's good for both?

**Sponsor**

by **tamu33** on Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:13 am

Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy on ESPN's Page 2 and one of the best things about ESPN.com) had a reader email him a question about part of this trade (actually about the possibility of this trade). Here is the email and Simmon's repsonse.

Q: Rumors from Minneapolis say that the Wolves are exploring the possibility of trading former No. 1 overall pick Michael Olowokandi to your Celtics for the legendary Mark Blount. That's like trading herpes for syphilis!
-- Ben Kennedy, Minneapolis

SG: Come on, that's an insult to both herpes and syphilis

You can check out more Sports Guy articles here...

The full trade

Minnesota gets
Ricky Davis
Mark Blount
Justin Reed
2 conditional 2nd rounders

Boston gets
Wally
Micheal Olowakandi
Dwayne Jones
future 1st rounder

Seems like a fairly even trade. Blount and Olowakandi are both former high draft underachievers and the rest of the players are just lifetime benchers. The picks are the difference and I would say that taking two guys in the second round is not as good as one guy in the first. NBA drafts are typically not that deep.

by **Rob Graff** on Fri Jan 27, 2006 11:32 am

Sports guy stuff is hilarious.

In the light of morning - I'm still undecided. Big point - KG hasn't spoken yet about whether he likes the deal. I expect he does, as it's been continuously reported he doesn't like wally.

One important point - Davis is younger than Wally.

If this deal let's t-wolves get rid of Troy Hudson, I'm all for it.

by **Jolly Roger** on Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:03 pm

Rob Graff wrote: If this deal let's t-wolves get rid of Troy Hudson, I'm all for it.

They'd better start talking to Elgin Baylor, Isiah or the guy in Toronto then. Assuming Ainge is now sated, these are the only candidates addled enough to assume Hudsons exhorbitant new contract.

I swear, these NBA players must have photos of Glen Taylor and a young boy from Bankok to leverage the kind of mindless deals he sometimes gives out.

by **Pinball** on Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:51 pm

Wally could not play a drop of defense, he can shoot the 12 foot jumper with the best but thats about all

by **bste_lax** on Sat Jan 28, 2006 1:30 am

Pinball wrote:Wally could not play a drop of defense, he can shoot the 12 foot jumper with the best but thats about all

Davis hustles but he is not that great of a defensive player either.

This trade is a big yawner for me. Both teams seem to get rid of "dead weight" but nothing that is going to push them over the top.

by **Rob Graff** on Sat Jan 28, 2006 4:50 pm

Wolves played with significanlty more energy. NOw if we can do one more deal to get rid of t-hud!

Rob

by JW on Sat Jan 28, 2006 6:01 pm

to me it seems like a deal was done here just to make a deal. I think the more intriguing deal is the Stojakovic for Artest deal. I think in the long run this makes the Pacers serious contenders in the east. With jermaine o'neal on the inside and Peja spotting up from the outside, they are going to be dangerous and tough to beat.

by **Rob Graff** on Sat Jan 28, 2006 11:44 pm

JW - I'm not a Peja guy, I think he wilts in pressure situations - he did agains the wovles two years ago in the playoffs. Type of player that hits all the shots in practice and none when you need them in games. Artest is nuts, but will give the Kings heart -something they've lacked for some time.

And while I origanally agreed with you that it was a lateral move, tonight's game agains the Spurs suggests that the T-wolves might have gotten the better of the deal (assuming - and it's a HUGE assumption) that Blount provides a consistent performance similiar to tonight. I know that his hallmark has been inconsistency (except in a contract year) but boy, when he appears "into" the game, as tonight, he was a nice addition. If he's the "same ol Blount" then it's definately lateral.

by JW on Tue Jan 31, 2006 2:35 am

[quote="Rob Graff"]JW - I'm not a Peja guy, I think he wilts in pressure situations - he did agains the wovles two years ago in the playoffs. Type of player that hits all the shots in practice and none when you need them in games. Artest is nuts, but will give the Kings heart -something they've lacked for some time.quote]

I agree, but this year and last year, Peja has had to be the man. Those years that they had Webber, Vlade, Christie, and Bibby altogether he wasn't the first option. I think Peja is a good player, but certainly not a great player.