Antoine Walker and Ricky Davis swap zip codes

The inevitable happened on Wednesday, as the Minnesota Timberwolves purged themselves of the last remnants of veteran talent by trading away Ricky Davis. The unpredictable Davis on a young ‘Wolves team, particularly with the leadership of Kevin Garnett out of the picture, was a disaster waiting to happen. He would have dominated the ball on the court and been a distraction off it, so there was no doubt Davis had to go. But, unfortunately for Timberwolves fans, seemingly clueless GM Kevin McHale chose to do a deal that makes absolutely no sense, particularly considering that the Timberwolves need to trim payroll, lose some of the bloated veteran contracts and turn the key over to young talent like Al Jefferson and Gerald Green -- not bring back other veterans with their own distended deals.

McHale, who seems to have made a gentleman’s bet with equally inept Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kup-cake to see who can make the most boneheaded moves, traded Davis and center Mark Blount to the Miami Heat for Antonie Walker, Wayne Simeon, Michael Doleac and a 1st round pick. Swapping Blount’s bloated 3 year contract for Walker’s bloated 2 year contract is essentially a wash. But, why in the world would you move Ricky Davis, along with his valuable expiring contract and relatively high trade value, for what essentially amounts to two 12th man candidates and what will likely end up being a pick in the latter third of the first round?

So, you’re telling us that the Wolves couldn’t have moved Davis for some young, inexpensive talent from a team like the Memphis Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers or New York Knicks? Did they really need to settle for Walker, Simeon and Doleac?

Miami easily got the better end of this deal. Ricky Davis will fill in nicely for an ailing Dwayne Wade during the first several weeks of the season. And following D-Wade’s return, Davis can seamlessly slip into the third scoring option role on Pat Riley’s team. In Blount, the Heat get a solid backup center, who can spell Shaq for a few minutes, or a few weeks, while the “Big Aristotle” goes on one of his “injury” induced regular season hiatus.

As for the ‘Wolves, Kevin McHale’s incompetency never ceases to amaze. Well, at least he’s now the proud GM of the worst team in the NBA.