Wally to Boston

[HowBoutThemFins]

It was just announced on TNT. I'm not 100% clear on all the players that were involved, but it involved 7 players in all.

[Shane Does Art]

A few more details would be nice.. A link maybe.

[HowBoutThemFins]

I don't have a link. That's why I said it was announced during the Miami/Phoenix game on TNT.

Ricky Davis & Mark Blount to the Timberwolves. I'll post all the details as soon as they're available.

[FiddySicks]

first story on NBA.com

Story

[Cujo]

Why is ESPN calling this a "blockbuster"?? Ricky Davis is only known for being the guy who missed at the wrong basket to get a triple-double and Wally has been overrated since Day 1 and had no business ever being an All-Star.

[Burkell007]

FIRE DANNY AINGE!!!!!

Danny Anige needs to be fired--------period!

Wally and the Kandi man are underacheavers there whole career and i have never heard of this jones guy and boston gives up davis,banks and blount???.......the secnod trade that screwes us over in less then a year(yea i'm taking about when we traded antonie walker to miami and we got??? yea i dont rembemer eather)

FIRE DANNY AINGE!!!!!

[slapshot]

The Celtics have officially reached the league quota of white guys with long names.

[Starchild]

I don't understand this move for Boston.

Minnesota gets an upgrade. Ricky Davis plays more D than Wally, and is a better offensive player for the most part. They get a solid backup point guard in Banks to play with Jaric and Hudson (and to allow either of them to play the 2 with Ricky at the 3?) Blount and Kandi Man more or less cancell each other out... check that, Blount is an upgrade - Kandi is awful.

For Boston, Danny Ainge is a moron. No.1, they just traded away their no.2 and no.3 leading scorers. Wally plays no defense, and is a similar to offensive player to Pierce, although Pierce does it FAR more effectively. Not to mention, Wally has a nice bloated contract. Blount may have been ineffective, but Kandi is like playing 5-on-4. He's useless.

[ZBoyer]

Just posted this rant on my blog:

Ainge Again Toying With Celts' Future

January 26, 2006 - 11:28 PM

Danny Ainge will never cease to amaze me.

Since May 9, 2003 - "D-Day", I guess you may call it for several reasons - Ainge has thrown together some of the oddest trades under the guise of trying to help the Celtics win. He has traded some of the Celtics' most popular players, some of the most useless players, and has definitely tinkered with their future. Ainge's process of making trades has to be somewhat similar to trying to trade players in Madden - keep stacking the sides of the trade to see what you can get away with before the meter falls into the red, then, when a deal is settled, throw in a couple "future draft picks" for good measure.

Sadly, Ainge has been at it again, sending Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks and Justin Reed to the Timberwolves for Michael Olowokandi and Wally Szczerbiak.

As my roommate Dave told his father when they spoke on the phone shortly thereafter, "The Celtics just traded about a third of their team for Wally Szczerbiak and Olowokandi." When you put it that way, it doesn't sound very good...and it wasn't.

Now, the Celtics aren't doing well by any means. They're not winning games and when they are in position to win, they somehow self-destruct and throw it all away (see Wednesday's game against the Wizards, where the Celts were up by 12 at one point before squandering their lead to lose by two at home). They're failing in all aspects - failing to win, failing to draw interest and even failing to keep some resemblance of a starting lineup through more than three games in a row.

So tonight, or for however long Ainge has been working on this (I can't believe it was very long), Ainge somehow thought it was a good idea to trade Davis - the one piece that was beginning to take shape for the Celtics - for two career roleplayers.

Davis had finally shed his troublemaker image when he came to the Celtics during the 2003-2004. He was the knucklehead who, in an effort to obtain a triple-double, shot at his own basket to get the one rebound he was missing. But Davis came to the Celtics willingly, he showed up to work every day and, lately, was leading the Celts in assists and was only behind Paul Pierce in points per game. He even had his own well-publicized cheering section, the "Get Buckets Brigade," in the Garden for every home game. People began to like Ricky, and Ricky began to like Boston - so much that it was almost guaranteed Ainge get him out as soon as possible (Antoine Walker, anyone?)

From what I can tell, Szczerbiak seems to make up for Davis' departure, reaching nearly the same levels as Davis in every category. He's always been the second fiddle on a team dominated by Kevin Garnett, so to start, the pressure won't be on him. Olowokandi, on the other hand, has been little more than a perennial failure since being drafted first overall out of Pacific in 1998.

The good thing about this trade is that it can offer the Celtics payroll flexibility that they otherwise might not have. By dumping Blount, who Ainge signed to a ludicrous six-year, $40 million contract after the 2003-2004 season, and gaining Olowokandi, who is in his last year of a three-year contract he signed with the Wolves in 2003, the Celts should have the money to make a run at younger players this summer.

What I can't understand is why the trade, which was supposed to be a straight-up swap between Blount and Olowokandi two weeks ago, had broken down. That trade would have been tremendous for the Celts in that they would have cut their losses and rolled the dice with the "Kandi Man," who can show brilliance every so often.

Ainge usually doesn't seem to know what he's doing, and blind luck seems to be the only force that has guided him to this much "success" so far. Should the Celtics continue at the same pace, at the very least, and Olowokandi doesn't contribute, at least they'll be a player in the 2006 NBA Draft and could make a run for Adam Morrison, LaMarcus Aldridge or UConn's own Rudy Gay.

Frustrates me to no end, but at least I can see some kind of positives out of it. Still, I would have liked to see Davis stay.

[NJTank]

Danny Ainge seems to be more wavering then any other GM I ever seen he never sticks to a plan more then 3 montsh and changes directiosn all the time, no wonder the Celtics continue to toil in mediocrity. EIther build a team now or rebuild but when you decide stick with the plan other wise you will be bad for a long long time.

[rmackman]

Yeah I don't think Boston is very smart, however Minnesota got themselves I think the better end of the deal. I feel bad for Celtics fans I mean...no wait....screw them they got a Super Bowl and a World Series!

[CC97]

You guys are nuts, this is cleary a great move for Boston... all those players they traded were only good at home anyways, and they wanted too much money so naturally Boston's lineup is better because of their removal. All those guys they got rid of were expendible anyways, just blockin other talent, just cause they're "name" players doesn't mean they're good... Boston will still compete for the championship this season.

Oh wait... Boston Celtics? Sorry, thought this was a Red Sox move.

[shiznit1083]

Gentlemen, not sure how this is a bad move for the Celts at all.

Sure we give up Ricky Davis, but Wally plays a different kind of game. Excellent shooter, better than Davis, who can open thing up inside and in turn free up the middle for Pierce. The best part is, they traded away Blount bloated contract for an expiring contract as well as dumping a sparingly used point gaurd. If that's not enough they get a first round pick to boot.

I'm going to miss Ricky Davis alot, but his defense, while excellent, wasn't always there. This makes the Celts a better team inside out, and allows the further development of Jefferson and Perkins. Excellent move by Danny.

[floydnimrod]

I don't think the trade will work because apparently Ron Artest's agent doesn't want Wally Szczerbiak in Boston

[Seadragon76]

Well, you can tell who got hosed in this deal (hint, hint).

Minnesota got a decent shooter and a good rebounder in Davis. Blount and Banks would work well on the bench.

While Olowokandi and Wally Szczerbiak are... well, they are the definition of overrated crap on a stick.

[Bleujayone]

It's a pretty sad day in Boston when Danny Ainge can make M.L. Carr look like Red Auerbach.

Now I have a clearer understanding about how Detroit Lions fans feel about Matt Millen.

[CC97]

Gentlemen, not sure how this is a bad move for the Celts at all.

Sure we give up Ricky Davis, but Wally plays a different kind of game. Excellent shooter, better than Davis, who can open thing up inside and in turn free up the middle for Pierce. The best part is, they traded away Blount bloated contract for an expiring contract as well as dumping a sparingly used point gaurd. If that's not enough they get a first round pick to boot.

I'm going to miss Ricky Davis alot, but his defense, while excellent, wasn't always there. This makes the Celts a better team inside out, and allows the further development of Jefferson and Perkins. Excellent move by Danny.

Heh, guess it does apply for the Celtics too... Boston teams are magical

[CS85]

I don't think the trade will work because apparently Ron Artest's agent doesn't want Wally Szczerbiak in Boston

Ron Artest just blocked the trade pending the league promotes the release of his new album, "No Deal".

[gosioux76]

It's funny to hear all this talk about Danny Ainge's performance. The media in Minneapolis this morning are all calling for Kevin McHale's head. One columnist called it the T-Wolves all-time worst trade.

The argument that the T-Wolves lost in this deal centers on Wally's improved performance this year, and McHale's tendency to give up first-round draft picks for mid-level players. The trade that sent Sam Cassell to the Clippers for Marko Jaric also came witha protected first-rounder, just like this trade.

I'm not sure who wins. Davis is good, certainly. And Wally wasn't meshing well with KG.

[Joshawaggie]

i'm getting so used to the Twolves never having a first round draft pick. This year, McCants, was the first first rounder in years, now they are giving them up again.