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Marc Stein of ESPN is reporting (and Ira Winderman of the Miami Sun-Sentinel confirms) that the Miami Heat are on the verge of re-vamping their roster by sending Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac and Wayne Simien and possibly a future draft pick to the Timberwolves in exchange for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. If Pat Riley pulls this off, he'll immediately salvage what had been an extremely disappointing offseason. For a guy set to make almost $19 million over this year and next (with team options totaling $20 million plus the next two years), Walker is a huge disappointment -- in addition to being expensive, he's aging and fat, the latter of which has landed him in Riley's doghouse on multiple occasions.
Walker's attitude is also a bit questionable, though it was kept in check on a roster that included Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal. But on a young team like Minnesota? Yikes. You have to hope Kevin McHale rounds up the troops before Walker arrives and warns everyone not to pay any attention to him. Doleac and Simien are useful depth, I suppose, but their greatest value is the fact that their contracts expire after this year.
If the T'Wolves can survive having Walker around (and to be fair I'm likely overstating that concern), it's not a horrible trade -- they weren't going to do anything this year anyways, so at least now Gerald Green or Rashad McCants can start all year. And if that makes them worse this year, well, that's just a better draft pick next summer, not to mention whatever pick Miami is throwing in.
As for what Miami is receiving, Davis would be an excellent fit at the two-guard spot until Wade is able to return, and he's proven adept at the sixth-man role for when Wade is healthy. He may not appreciate playing as a sixth-man in a contract year, but he probably appreciates the ticket out of Minny. Blount is bit overpaid in his own right and will remain so for the next three years, but he's still a reasonably useful body to throw in there when Shaq needs a breather (or takes his annual injury vacation). It always hurts dealing future draft picks, but in a way this move also serves Miami's youth movement as removes one obstacle for 21-year-old Dorell Wright to start at small forward. (I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but Winderman suggests the Heat are looking at Davis as the solution at the three, which is very possible.)
My initial reaction: Riley pulled one over on McHale. My "now that I think about it (and maybe I'm over-thinking things)" reaction: it's pretty fair.
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