The Miami Heat are 16 months removed from a championship, have one of the game's transcendent stars in Dwyane Wade and still have the NBA's most dominant force in Shaquille O'Neal.
So why was it time to push the panic button?
Well, for starters, Wade is expected to miss most of November and, according to league sources, that timetable could be even longer. O'Neal -- who hasn't been the picture of health, playing in just 99 of a possible 164 games the last two seasons -- is coming off a season abbreviated by knee surgery and generally waltzes through the first two months anyway.
Moreover, the Heat failed in their attempt to stabilize the point-guard position over the summer and have been disappointed in the development of 2004 first-round pick Dorell Wright, not to mention Antoine Walker arriving at camp at 262 pounds, leaving coach Pat Riley "beyond irritated" at the former All-Star forward.
Oh, and did I mention the Heat just completed the first winless preseason in their 20-year history?
Certainly a shakeup was in order, and Wednesday's trade of Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a conditional first-round draft pick to Minnesota for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount accomplishes just that. Riley's public criticism of Walker probably made the relationship between the two beyond repair.
Simien is an interesting young player who has been beset by injuries his first two seasons, while Doleac is a career backup whose loss is negated by Blount, a capable center (he averaged 12.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in 82 games with the Timberwolves last season) and a close friend of Alonzo Mourning who can also fill in at power forward.
The wild card is Davis, who played 70 games for Miami in the 2000-2001 season.
"Miami is getting more talent," an Eastern Conference executive said. "Davis replaces [James] Posey, only Davis is more dynamic offensively."
No one has ever questioned Davis' abilities on the court. He is a scorer in the purest sense of the word, a player with a questionable basketball IQ but with the skills to cover it up. Last season Davis averaged 17 points on 46.5 percent shooting and connected on 39.7 percent of his three-point attempts.
The questions about Davis stem from his occasional bizarre behavior, from taking a shot at his own basket in an effort to get a triple double in a game against Utah in 2003 to reports that he was undermining Paul Pierce in Boston by rolling his eyes when the Celtics' captain was addressing the team.
"He does some boneheaded things," Celtics assistant coach Clifford Ray once said of Davis. "But he'll run through the wall if you tell him to."
Miami needs him to do just that. The Heat have long been in search of a third scorer to play next to O'Neal and Wade. Until both return at full strength, Davis will have to be more than that. The question is, come March, when O'Neal and Wade are 100 percent and the Heat are battling for playoff positioning, will Davis accept a role as a complementary player?
"Riley can coach him," the East executive said. "Ricky is much better when he knows he is not the No. 1 guy. He needs to know he's not the guy. The problems come up for him when he thinks he is. Having Riley and Shaq down there should keep him in line."
DeLeah Caro
Melanie Fitzpatrick
Back in Time: November 6
Yankees' World Championships
Comments (28) Add A Comment
Other than "older" (and another chance to get laughed at) what did the T-wolves get out of this?
By-the-Sea
Total Comments (111)
i think its time we all stop referring to Shaq as "the nba's most dominant force". Let's remember that Shaq averaged less than 20points per game for the first time in his career (while avg less than 8rebounds)...and he's not getting younger! I would argue that Amare Staudemire , Yao and Tim Duncan are both more dominant. Chris Bosh anyone? Please define dominant...becuase if it means taking over a game and putting a team on your back no matter what the oppossing team does.....then shaq is not that guy anymore.
DJ in NYC
New York , NY
Total Comments (1)
I agree, the T-Wolves got nothing out of this deal. Hopefully that conditional pick turns into something luscious.
Chris Bosh is a monster. Hopefully Brian C can work a Kobe deal out with his extra PG
KOBERULEZ
Total Comments (9)
This group of T-wolves are going to drive me to the bottle! I'm not all that sure that we can avg. 65 pts a game. Are the T-wolves trying to be worse than the Gophers? We traded our only scorer for someone who is more out of shape than I am. Good one McHale!
Eric Staab
Montezuma , KS
Total Comments (1)
I wish there was more detail on the "conditional first-round draft pick ". Lottery-protected? 1-3 protected? I could see the Heat easily falling out of the playoffs if Wade doesn't come back healthy.
ohpo
Arlington , MA
Total Comments (1)
This was a good deal for the T-Wolves. They wanted to get Blount and Ricky the hell away from Jefferson (and get rid of Blount's contract). They'll buy out Walker's contract, start Doleac at center, and use Simien off the bench. Not to mention picking up another 1st rounder. If you're going to rebuild, then rebuild. Clearing these salaries is a good first step.
McHale has looked remarkably competent this summer, getting Jefferson, Green, and two no. 1s for his aging veterens.
John L.
Dallas , TX
Total Comments (86)
John is right. As any Celtics fan will tell you, the farther you keep Mark Blount and his "work habits' from young players, the more likely they are to develop into actual bonafide NBA players. They got someone to take two headcases off their hands and got two competent players, a draft pick and Antoine Walker (who they should buy out) out of the deal.
It's almost like David Stern wanted to cover for the cronyism that got Garnett to Boston by making sure Minnesota made an actual trade that is good for their team. Now watch, McHale will decide they need one more big guy and sign Vin Baker or Charles Oakley, just so we all know that he is still in charge.
dxtate
Falls Church , VA
Total Comments (3)
does mchale only trade for celtics and former celtics? does he know that there are actually 30 teams in the NBA, and not 2? And I think Eric might be on to something: Tuby's Gophers are probably going to draw more than the pathetic T-Wolves this year, and they might even be better
Polio816
Madison , WI
Total Comments (1)
It's all about the contracts - getting rid of bad ones, or at least lessening some of the years left. If they can lose Walker, then we're closer to being at complete rock bottom (we're about an inch above there now).
Problem is, I don't trust this T-Wolves regime to actually rebuild from rock bottom. Even if the conditional draft pick here ends up being a good one the T-Wolves will end up getting shafted in the lottery, or McHale will fall in love with a project with "upside" that never pans out.
stewart2525
Minneapolis , MN
Total Comments (48)
THE DRAFT PICK IS PROTECTED IF MIAMI FAILS TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS. In other words, if the best the pick could be for Minnesota is 15th.
dbackdiehard17
Pompano Beach , FL
Total Comments (17)
LETS Put it in Simple Terms...
THE HEAT SUCK!!!
THE T-WOLVES SUCK!!!
THAT SIMPLE!!!
Sunny
Lancaster , CA
Total Comments (206)
This trade is as much about clearing out Ricky Davis as anything else. The T-Wolves need to give Rashad McCants, Gerald Green, and Corey Brewer minutes to see if they can develop into productive players. This wasn't going to happen with Ricky eating up 35 minutes a night.
KobetotheBulls
Los Angeles , CA
Total Comments (2)
Mchale has bad mouthed Walker a lot. This trade makes no sense at all. It has to be a prelude to another trade.
Walker is a great leader and I am telling you he will do a lot to help Al Jefferson and the kids but IMO this whole trade sucks.
Walker deserves better then to be stuck playing on this team. He plays the same position as Jefferson who Minnasota is about to pay Jefferson 10 million a year to play pf and Walker is no back up to anyone.
BandofGold
Beverly Hills , CA
Total Comments (772)
Wolves will buy out Walker's contract, so Boston can pick him up...hehehehe...McHale and Ainge playing musical chair, if anyone hasn't noticed!!
ESPN
Atlanta , GA
Total Comments (1306)
Walker is a great leader? I have to say, I don't follow the NBA real closely, but I've never heard anyone accuse him of being a leader before. And I did keep up with him at UK way back, and I don't recall him really being a leader type then. I think John L. summed it up nicely. If you are going to rebuild, then rebuild. Davis is a nice piece, but he wasn't going to lead the T-Wolves anywhere this season, and McHale appears to be quite comfortable with the prospect of winning 15 games this season, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in the long run.
AcesFullMoon
Greenwood, IN
Total Comments (301)
To: By The Sea
re: What did they get?
I covered Ricky Davis in high school in Davenport, Iowa when he was a freshman. I watched him ruin team chemistry as a freshman at the University of Iowa. He has been a coaching headache his entire career. What did the T-Wolves get? A much better locker room atmosphere. Ricky can score, he is a tremendous athlete, and can play defense when he wants to. Problem is, he never wants to. Million dollar talent, 10-cent head.
Bill
Keokuk , IA
Total Comments (13)
Shaq is not that dominant anymore. He only takes a lot of space in the middle! Walker for Davis is a bad trade for both teams!
CavFan
Total Comments (5)
For a rebuilding T-Wolves, who were not going to make the playoffs anyway, keep Davis was not worth the chance to get a extra pick and set yourself up for the lottery now, rather than be accused later of dumping games.
Ironfinch42
Greenfield , MA
Total Comments (188)
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