Actually, I don't think it was just a good trade. It was a GREAT trade.
You add up all the details involved and you can't think otherwise.
-- Perkins coming off major knee surgery
... and he was back in the lineup, playing pretty [dang] well even at less than 100%.
-- Perkins getting injured yet again after coming back on a standard play
... and he was back again in a couple weeks, and helping OKC dramatically improve their defensive play
-- Roster depleted with Injuries including Perkins at the time
... so you trade Semih for Anthony Parker, unload Quis and 'Gody (like they did) and sign some combo of Dropkick/Sasha/Arroyo
-- Your team with free agents or additions like Shaq, JO, and Semih didn't miss a beat when Perkins was down and out
... and both Shaq and JO were out indefinitely with injuries at the time, with JO only returning very recently and Shaq playing what, five minutes since the trade?
-- Can't sign Perk for 4/5 M per
... so you sign him in the offseason. Miami wants him, but only has the MLE (we can offer more). OKC wants him, not sure if they could have offered much more than the deal they gave him.
-- Core 4 still here
... and the second most-important defensive player is not (the guy most agree was the biggest reason we lost game 7)
-- Your not giving him 8/9 M per next season with the core 4 here
... you giving that money to Green?
-- Received a 24 yr old whose just getting his feet wet in the league who has far more upside than Perkins at this point in his career
... who's due to become a restricted free agent, and apparently is looking for $10M per year, and frankly should be a better player than he is. Oh, and who will probably walk, since Danny has no interest in adding salary beyond 2012.
-- Also got a backup Center with starter experience, with a future 1st round Clipper pick to help down the road as well
... Ok. More concerned with 2011 playoffs than the Clipper pick.
-- Value returned was far greater than letting an injured player walk in the future for virtually nothing
... I'm just going to respectfully disagree.