MINNEAPOLIS -- The struggling Minnesota Timberwolves shook up their roster Thursday night, sending swingman Wally Szczerbiak to the Boston Celtics for guard Ricky Davis in an exchange involving seven players and three draft picks.
Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed and two conditional second-round draft picks are coming to Minnesota, and in exchange the Celtics are getting Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones and a future first-round draft pick, the teams announced.
The Wolves were in need of a spark after losing their last two games by 20 points or more.
"Through this trade, we've become a much more athletic team," Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said in a statement. "With Ricky Davis, we've added one of the more talented shooting guards in the NBA -- both on the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Plus, with Davis and Trenton Hassell together on the court, we'll have a great defensive presence at the 2-3 positions."
McHale planned a conference call for reporters Thursday night.
"It was a tough decision to trade Wally," McHale said in the statement. "He has been the ultimate professional and a very good player for us through the years. I wish him nothing but the best of luck with the rest of his NBA career."
The Celtics said they were glad to get Szczerbiak.
"We are ecstatic to acquire a player of Wally Szczerbiak's quality to complement Paul Pierce and our young talent base," said Danny Ainge, the Celtics' executive director of basketball operations. "In Wally we are receiving an All-Star player who is playoff tested and who has been a winner at all levels."
Davis, a 6-foot-7 guard, is the Celtics second leading scorer, averaging 19.7 points per game, and the 7-0 Blount is the team's third-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game.
Banks, a point guard and former first-round draft pick, was made expendable by the development of Delonte West.
The 6-7 Szczerbiak is averaging 20.1 points, second on Minnesota, while the 7-0 Olowokandi, a former first overall draft pick, is averaging 6 points. He had been a big disappointment for the Wolves, who signed him as a free agent in the summer of 2003.
Opinion, oh basketball gurus?
-Arlos
