Because they couldn't reach an agreement with Perkins and didn't want to lose him in the offseason for nothing. Problem is, they ended up gutting their team for THIS season, which is probably their last chance to win it all. In addition, the long term piece they acquired, Jeff Green, may not be much of a long-term piece after all. Ainge thought they could rely on Shaq and JO to man their C position for the playoffs. But their team chemistry has been thrown off. A "r****ded" move as someone just said. I have to admit that I underestimated Perkins impact. He has seriously impacted the mentality of the Thunder beyond any reasonable expectation. From OKC's standpoint, I had no problem with the trade because of what they gave up and Ibaka & Harden needed to be put to the test. But I wasn't totally on board with Perkins being their long-term answer at C. I am now. I'm not a Celts fan at all, but it's too bad their starting 5 was denied another run at a championship. If healthy, they were my #1 pick to take the prize.
the ironic thing with this trade was that it came after doc rivers said they have never lost a playoff series with the starting 5 of rondo, allen, pierce, KG, and perkins (in response to phil's jab).
The Celtics should have given the extension Perkins wanted since it wouldn't have been difficult to trade him when the playoffs were over. There are plenty of teams that would've wanted him for his 3 year, $8 million/year contract, including, I bet, Houston. Or maybe Danny Ainge was that enamored with Jeff Green.
Boston did shoot themselves in the foot when they traded Perkins. They lost a key piece of their interior defense. However, their demise started way before they traded Perkins. Their downfall began with KG's decline and injuries. Had Garnett played on the same level for the last couple of years as he did when he first got to the Celtics they would have won three straight championships. Their window is closing fast. Right now the Celtics go as Rondo goes. When Rondo plays well they still have enough to compete with the best. When Rondo struggles like he did last night they have no chance against teams like the Lakers and the Bulls. They can still beat Miami though.
I guess only teams with 'legit big men' are interested in penetrating into Boston's paint? Perkins is only useful for one on one defense vs. other bigs, he doesn't play help defense at all? Also, there's no such thing as 'Shaq at 100%', and even if that were possible, he hasn't had anything left in the tank for about 5 years now, same with J. O'Neal. Anyone seriously relying on those guys for a championship run needs their head examined.
They should have gotten James Harden instead then, at least Harden has more upside and can actually shoot to give Boston that spark off the bench. If Harden was on another team that doesnt have someone like Durant and Westbrook taking all the shot, I bet he'd easily average 17-19 points a game, plus the kid can defend. FREAKING r****dS BOSTON! MOREY WOULD NEVER LET SOMEONE STEAL HIS ASSETS LIKE THAT!
The future of the West runs though Oklahoma City. Durant, Perkins, Ibaka........are you kidding me? That front line reminds me of Bird, Parish, McHale. They've also got the perimeter pieces in place. They are going to be absolute H-E-L-L to deal with in a couple seasons. They will get some rings. I'm going to be rooting for them this playoffs. I wanna see them topple the Lakers and shake up the NBA. I remember when I first saw footage of Ibaka over there on the playground. I thought he was a great draft pick to take a risk on. Turns out he is going to be very, very good. Perkins is a menace. He has Robert Parish written all over him with even better defense. His career won't be as long as Parish unless he lowers his alcohol intake substantially. All the same, he's got 6-8 years in him that he is going to be very nasty. And Durant is crazy good and a tremendous leader. Love that team. Hate Westbrook's swagger. But he's a big time baller. Swagger reminds me of Jordan but Durant is the clear leader. That team simply has everything and they're fixing to blossom in these playoffs. Once they get more games under their belt, and get their chemistry going even better, they're gonna be almost unbeatable. That's a 60 win team right there for the next 5 years. ........................................... ........................................... And this is the team we have to look at to build our team up to. We have to keep Hayes. He's a beast defensively on the block. We've got to re-sign Yao and give him a chance to get healthy and counter a guy like Perkins (Perkins hates playing against him.) We've got to get a long, long SF that can defend effectively against a guy like Durant (Kirilenko). And we need another 7 foot paint defender. I don't know who that guy is yet. But I know some who are not. These soft skinny guys that weigh 218 pounds aren't it. We either gotta trade for a guy currently proven or we gotta get a big, big kid, with a big 240-270 lb base that can play big time D. Trading for that guy is going to be a lot easier than trying to find him in the middle of the first round of the draft or even trading up in the draft to get him. Pardon the rant. Back to the Celts, Bulls. Right now, the Bulls are better, it is very clear. BUT............and I'm talking big Butt..............it remains to be seen what Boston becomes when Shaq gets back for the playoffs. No, he can't carry a team for a season. But he can still be a big time rim protector and paint presence in the post season. If he gets healthy (which I suspect he's just hanging out and saving his energy for a long playoff run), then Boston could be a very different team with him and Garnett in the middle. And that could be what pushes them over Chicago one final time. I firmly expect that we are going to see Chicago/Boston in the East Finals. Will be fun to watch.
Eh.. I'm still not impressed with Durant. He still gets owned by pesky defenders. It's disappointing, really. He's got to change his game a little, I hate seeing games from him with low FG%. And it's quite usual too.
How well did Shaq protect the rim against Rondo last year? He'll help someone like Davis get breathing room, but I don't think the Celtics can win even if Shaq is healthy.
no its not only teams with big men, its teams with stars who attack the paint like rose, wade, bron. shaq better bring the pain (and not in his legs) come playoff time
A little off-topic question, but it is Thunder related so..... Does anyone know who has the tie-break between the Thunder and Mavericks? In case they end up with the same record which is possible.
idk man, he proved you wrong after yesterday night against LA I look at him as a taller kevin martain that can occasionally create his own shot
Plus Sefelosha and Westbrook I never seen a team with above average defenders in every position they can go into shutdown mode anytime in the playoffs .. I have big expectations for them
<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/52dZXO-r5iE?version=3"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/52dZXO-r5iE?version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></object> Whoever said Westbrook's mentality is like Jordan is correct...
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/...-+BostonHerald.com)&utm_content=Google+Reader No worries from Jeff Green By Dan Duggan | Saturday, April 16, 2011 WALTHAM — Jeff Green doesn’t think he needs to prove anything to anyone. He doesn’t feel any extra pressure despite the fact that the Celtics [team stats] struggled after acquiring him in a major trade at the Feb. 24 deadline. And he isn’t worried about replacing center Kendrick Perkins [stats], who was beloved in Boston. Green obviously hasn’t listened much to talk radio, watched many local sports shows or read many columns since he arrived from Oklahoma City as the centerpiece of the deal that sent Perkins to the Thunder. “I don’t worry about it,” Green said. “You all are the people that always bring it up, not me. It goes in one ear and out the other.” Part of the reason the talk has persisted is Green hasn’t delivered what general manager Danny Ainge promised he would provide. Upon his arrival, the 6-foot-9 24-year-old was touted as a versatile, dynamic offensive player who could help guard premier wings. So far, he has done neither consistently. Green clearly was miscast as a James Posey clone, because defense is not his forte. He’s shown flashes offensively, but only has averaged 9.8 points in 23.5 minutes per game with the Celtics. By comparison, Perkins averaged 10.1 points in 27.6 minutes last season, and offense always has been considered his weakness. Of course, no one is expecting Green to replace Perkins. They’re completely different players. “Kendrick was a great player, and he meant a lot to this team,” Green said. “I’m not going to come in here and try to do what he did, because I can’t. I’m just going to continue to play my game, continue to be myself.” The problem is that in 26 games with the Celtics, Green has struggled to find himself. His versatility is attractive, but it also has kept him from carving out a defined role. Rather than locking in as Paul Pierce [stats]’s backup at small forward, Green has spent time at power forward and even alongside Pierce on the wing in bigger lineups. “It’s a work in progress,” Green said of his role. “My main goal is just to go out there and play hard. Whatever Doc (Rivers) wants me to do, that’s what I’m going to do. It will vary every game because there will be different matchups he’s going to try to throw at them.” It’s understandable that it’s been a challenge for Green to fit in on the fly with a veteran team. But the postseason, which begins tomorrow night against the Knicks, is the time for Green to make his mark. After all, Posey averaged 7.4 points during the 2007-08 regular season. His reputation was built by helping the Celtics win the title. If Green can do the same, all of the trade critics will be silenced. “We’ll have to see,” Green said. “If we win, everything is fine. But if we lose, then people always have something to say. We just have to win to shut everybody up.”
Bill Simmons mentioned on his playoff podcast that Daryl Morey would have definitely put together a better package for Perkins then Green and Kristic. Just something i thought was pretty interesting since Simmons knows DM pretty well. I wish Boston would have shopped Perk around a little more..
Perkins is making $6.4M. What's the better deal the Rockets could put on the table? Battier...the player that eventually landed Thabeet? Scola...who was BYC and would have required some other players in the mix? Hayes + Brad Miller? The way Green was playing for OKC at the time, Ainge would have laughed and hung up. We're all entitled to opinions. But I just don't see what the Rockets had to obtain Perkins.
