Meanwhile, this deal isn’t as much of a salary cap breather for
Minnesota as you might expect–none actually, if you consider that
Walker and Blount are a wash, and ditto RD versus Doleac and Simien.
 
Finally, all this talk about a 2-for-1 trade to shed contracts wound up
being a 2-for-3 trade that adds more bodies. Are more trades on the
horizon (like Howard)?
 
 
From the Star Tribune:

Minnesota, on the other hand, is trying to unload some long-term
contracts, which is why Blount would be included in the deal. He has
three years and more than $20 million left on his deal, while Walker’s
contract has two years left guaranteed (at almost $18 million) with a
team option for 2009-10.
 

Doleac’s deal ($3.1 million) expires after this season and Simien, a
first-round pick in 2005, is in the third season of his rookie contract.
 
 
Ira Winderman/Sun-Sentinel weighs the positives and negatives of the deal for Miami:
It’s difficult to find a downside to Wednesday’s trade, other than taking on an extra year of Mark Blount’s salary and yielding another first-round pick.