Team Sends Banks, Blount, Davis and Reed to Minnesota
BOSTON - The Boston Celtics announced today that they have acquired forward Wally Szczerbiak, center Michael Olowokandi, center Dwayne Jones, and a future first round draft choice from the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Marcus Banks, Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Justin Reed, and two conditional second round draft choices.
Szczerbiak, a one-time All-Star, is averaging a career-high 20.1 points, shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from beyond the arc, to go with 4.8 boards in 38.9 minutes per game. The 6-7, 235-pound forward, originally drafted 6th overall in the 1999 NBA Draft by Minnesota, has career averages of 15.5 points, shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, to go with 4.4 rebounds in 33.6 minutes per game.
Michael Olowokandi, originally drafted 1st overall in the 1998 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, is averaging 6.0 points and 5.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game during the 2005-06 campaign. The 7-0, 270-pound center has career averages of 8.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game. His best season came in 2002-03 when he averaged 12.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in 38.0 minutes per game for the Clippers. He was signed as a free agent by the Minnesota Timberwolves on July 16, 2003.
Dwyane Jones, signed as an undrafted free agent by Minnesota on August 26, 2005, is averaging 9.3 points and 11.3 boards per game for the Florida Flame of the NBDL. The 6-11, 250-pound center ranked 5th in the nation in rebounding (11.6) and blocks (3.0), while averaging 10.1 points per game for St. Joseph's in 2004-05. An early entry candidate for the 2005 NBA Draft, Jones averaged 7.1 points and 8.5 boards per game in three seasons with St. Joseph's.
"We are ecstatic to acquire a player of Wally Szczerbiak's quality to complement Paul Pierce and our young talent base", said Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge. "In Wally we are receiving an All-Star player who is playoff tested and who has been a winner at all levels. We wish Ricky, Mark, Marcus, and Justin continued success in Minnesota."