i hope the homicide investigation into kendrick perkins just hasn't come out yet otherwise i really don't understand this move for boston. i know they still have shaq as a big body at C but after all the "if we had perkins we would've won game 7" talk, it seems strange to get rid of him. like A_3PO said, they are the epitome of "win now" so hurting yourself in the present just to not pay perkins fair market value doesn't seem to make much sense. and how fortunate for OKC that they basically had a piece they didn't really need that was for some reason really valued by maybe 1 of 3 teams that had something they really did need and they were willing to give it to them. we'll see if the conventional wisdom that OKC just needed a tough inside presence on the boards and on defense to put them over the top is really true. and while he still has to deal with shaq, dwight howard should be the happiest man on earth right now.
I think it would depend on the players involved. You yourself said Green has flatlined quite a bit, PP/Hill+T-Will+Knicks picks+Brooks is vastly superior to just Green and Krstic IMHO. Well they already "won now" in their first year, right? The Boston three has been together for like 3 years now, how long should their win now mentality last? Paying 3 max guys+Rondo was clearly sucking all the money from the franchise, I believe they are one of the top luxury tax payers since the Big 3 arrived, I'm not sure they could afford to pay 4 max players on the squad (Rondo+Perkins=max contract). Krstic and Green should give their team a little bit of youth infusion as well, not exactly a new big 3 but its better than nothing.
Add one more notch on the "What the hell was Boston thinking?" tally for me. Honestly, I'm gonna laugh my ass off if/when they play Orlando and Dwight absolutely annihilates the Celtics' front line.
Krstic is long in the tooth and was never the same player again after his last injury in NJ. Green is a younger Drew Gooden.
So you now define the "package" in T-Will + "package" to be something where your "package" dwarfs T-Will himself. T-Will is a throw-in and the most worthless part of what Boston would get. Maybe the Rockets could have given up enough to get Perkins. Maybe not. It would have been Battier + package.
I'm a Celtics fan and I like the trade. I love Perk, but he only did one thing well, and that was play great D. His rebounding was not so good, and offense is poor. The Celtics offered him the max they were allowed and he turned it down. I guess they thought they had to trade him or just let him walk. They think both O'Neals will be back healthy at some point. Shaq will return next week. Ainge said Jermaine is doing fantastic after his minor procedure on the knee. In the meantime they have Shaq, Baby, and Krstic. Also, you can only really play two centers in the playoffs. There aren't enough minutes for three. Don't forget, the Boston record this year was built mostly without Perkins. Green's a 50% 2 pt fg% shooter. He just takes a lot of 3s which brings his percentage down. He'll play D in Boston; everybody does. Green should be a good wing to fly with Rondo. More importantly, with Green on the roster, Pierce will finally get some rest. The Boston bench is much stronger now. Krstic is a very good target for Rondo passes. The D might be worse. The offense is better. They're faster, more versatile, and more athletic. The Celtics might be setting themselves up for a free agent score depending on the new CBA. Only Rondo and Pierce are signed long term. With the other deals, the Celtics should pick up two buyout guys. Last thing: The Celtics also got the 2012 Clippers first rounder in this deal (top 10 protected). (The Celtics will be very very shorthanded tonight. They called up a D leaguer to fill out the frontcourt on a 10 day.)
It is strange seeing teams being elite while at the same time investing in the future. The Patriots do this too. Rare, but it happens. The Pistons drafting Darko instead of Carmelo is not a good example of this excellence.
Ainge talked about this before the game: that he thought the trades made the team better now, but also better for the future. Green, the pick, and potential cap space (for Dwight?) all help.
Please enlighten me on how this adds additional cap space for Dwight. Nenad and Perkins are both UFA. Robinson has 1 more year and Green is a restricted free agent. Oh, and Howard has 1 more year left on his contract to match the length of Robinson's remaining deal.
Because they don't re-sign Perkins. They potentially could only have Pierce and Rondo signed if they intend to go that direction.
OKC will be in the West finals, this gives them the edge over SA and on par with LA. Fantastic get and tip of the hat to Presti for making the BIG move...Finally.
I don't know. It's just an option should they choose to go that route, which is possible now and wasn't if they reupped Perk. The new CBA and Green's performance will determine what will happen.
Right now: 1 - Boston 2 - Miami 3 - Chicago 4 - Orlando I will bet anyone $20 Boston will finish second. They are gonna tank to avoid facing Orlando in the second round. They have a nice team when they want to go small that matches up well with Chicago and Miami.
I think this was a good trade for both teams. Boston is competing right now and still should,but now they have a young piece to go with rondo. Green is in that Lamar Odom mold early in his career with inconsistent play and tantilizing talent. He gives them flexibility for whomever fades first between Pierce and Allen. Perkins to OKC makes them a legit contender to win it this year imo. I know they're still young, but they now have inside toughness and physicality they never had before. Getting bigger and more physical, plus the emergence of ibaka is big time. Perkins,Nazr,and Collison really helps their frontline. Perkins on the open market would command 8-10m and boston probably didnt want to do that.8m in oklahoma city with that team is right in line. KD and Westbrooks are studs and max type of players,Ibaka will be around 8m along with perkins,everyone else are 5m type of players.
They're preparing for the post Garnet, Pierce and Allen era. Plus big's like Przybilla and Camby might get bought out. Boston can pick one of them up in addition to Kristic, J.Oneal and S.Oneal, and still have a large front-line.
