Was trade really necessary??

[BballTim]

 But I don't think for a minute that DA would have done this trade without some idea that one or both of those guys will be ready.

  I hear this a lot but I don't really agree with it. If Danny can't count on the O'Neals then he can't really afford to go into the playoffs with our title hopes absolutely depending on Perk being able to stay healthy and play big minutes if necessary.

or dependent on Nenad Krstic as our starting center...any way you slice it (trade or no trade), if both the Os and Perk are all injured going into the playoffs we're screwed...

  So you're claiming that Krstic as our only healthy center is no better than no healthy center? It's time to step back from the ledge.

well it's not no starting center...I mean worst case scenario Baby would start but what I'm saying is that in terms of winning a Title, if all those guys are out (ie scenarios where we made the trade or didn't make the trade) we're not going to win a Title...

  I don't think I'd guarantee that. We finish a lot of games with Baby and KG as it is, and they're also looking at going with Rondo/RA/PP/Green/KG at times.

and that's at least one reason why you are not as upset about the trade as I am...I just don't think we can win a Title without that big man advantage...

I think it's why we made it to the precipice last year and ultimately didn't win.

  We still have the big four, and West and Green and Baby are good bench players. It's not like we're dependent on winning the center matchup to get by. But you're assuming that Krstic can't play reasonably well for us, that Green won't have a major impact and that Perk will be at full strength during the playoffs. None of those things have happened.

And Green and Krstic being major contributors hasn't happened....I just think, balancing the unknowns, I'd rather be waiting for Perk's return than hoping Krstic somehow plays a lot better than he did in OKC...

  How much better than he played in OKC does he need to play? How would the game he played in OKC fit in with our current team?

[cman88]

green/krstic also only have played one game with the C's and contributed fairly well...I can only expect theyll get better/more comfortable with the Celtics schemes the more they play..

shaq, JO, Krstic, murphy, baby, KG isnt really a bad group of bigs for the playoffs if we face Orlando...

green definitely gives us an advantage at the 3 for chicago, miami, new york so Pierce wont have to take defending all on his own.

[winsomme]

 But I don't think for a minute that DA would have done this trade without some idea that one or both of those guys will be ready.

  I hear this a lot but I don't really agree with it. If Danny can't count on the O'Neals then he can't really afford to go into the playoffs with our title hopes absolutely depending on Perk being able to stay healthy and play big minutes if necessary.

or dependent on Nenad Krstic as our starting center...any way you slice it (trade or no trade), if both the Os and Perk are all injured going into the playoffs we're screwed...

  So you're claiming that Krstic as our only healthy center is no better than no healthy center? It's time to step back from the ledge.

well it's not no starting center...I mean worst case scenario Baby would start but what I'm saying is that in terms of winning a Title, if all those guys are out (ie scenarios where we made the trade or didn't make the trade) we're not going to win a Title...

  I don't think I'd guarantee that. We finish a lot of games with Baby and KG as it is, and they're also looking at going with Rondo/RA/PP/Green/KG at times.

and that's at least one reason why you are not as upset about the trade as I am...I just don't think we can win a Title without that big man advantage...

I think it's why we made it to the precipice last year and ultimately didn't win.

  We still have the big four, and West and Green and Baby are good bench players. It's not like we're dependent on winning the center matchup to get by. But you're assuming that Krstic can't play reasonably well for us, that Green won't have a major impact and that Perk will be at full strength during the playoffs. None of those things have happened.

And Green and Krstic being major contributors hasn't happened....I just think, balancing the unknowns, I'd rather be waiting for Perk's return than hoping Krstic somehow plays a lot better than he did in OKC...

  How much better than he played in OKC does he need to play? How would the game he played in OKC fit in with our current team?

Well if he ends up having to start in the playoffs, then A LOT...

[BballTim]

 But I don't think for a minute that DA would have done this trade without some idea that one or both of those guys will be ready.

  I hear this a lot but I don't really agree with it. If Danny can't count on the O'Neals then he can't really afford to go into the playoffs with our title hopes absolutely depending on Perk being able to stay healthy and play big minutes if necessary.

or dependent on Nenad Krstic as our starting center...any way you slice it (trade or no trade), if both the Os and Perk are all injured going into the playoffs we're screwed...

  So you're claiming that Krstic as our only healthy center is no better than no healthy center? It's time to step back from the ledge.

well it's not no starting center...I mean worst case scenario Baby would start but what I'm saying is that in terms of winning a Title, if all those guys are out (ie scenarios where we made the trade or didn't make the trade) we're not going to win a Title...

  I don't think I'd guarantee that. We finish a lot of games with Baby and KG as it is, and they're also looking at going with Rondo/RA/PP/Green/KG at times.

and that's at least one reason why you are not as upset about the trade as I am...I just don't think we can win a Title without that big man advantage...

I think it's why we made it to the precipice last year and ultimately didn't win.

  We still have the big four, and West and Green and Baby are good bench players. It's not like we're dependent on winning the center matchup to get by. But you're assuming that Krstic can't play reasonably well for us, that Green won't have a major impact and that Perk will be at full strength during the playoffs. None of those things have happened.

And Green and Krstic being major contributors hasn't happened....I just think, balancing the unknowns, I'd rather be waiting for Perk's return than hoping Krstic somehow plays a lot better than he did in OKC...

  How much better than he played in OKC does he need to play? How would the game he played in OKC fit in with our current team?

Well if he ends up having to start in the playoffs, then A LOT...

  You seem to know more about Krstic than most. What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? What does he do well that will make us better, and how much better will those traits make us? What does he do poorly that will cause us problems? I was expecting something a little more substantial than "A LOT".

[winsomme]

 But I don't think for a minute that DA would have done this trade without some idea that one or both of those guys will be ready.

  I hear this a lot but I don't really agree with it. If Danny can't count on the O'Neals then he can't really afford to go into the playoffs with our title hopes absolutely depending on Perk being able to stay healthy and play big minutes if necessary.

or dependent on Nenad Krstic as our starting center...any way you slice it (trade or no trade), if both the Os and Perk are all injured going into the playoffs we're screwed...

  So you're claiming that Krstic as our only healthy center is no better than no healthy center? It's time to step back from the ledge.

well it's not no starting center...I mean worst case scenario Baby would start but what I'm saying is that in terms of winning a Title, if all those guys are out (ie scenarios where we made the trade or didn't make the trade) we're not going to win a Title...

  I don't think I'd guarantee that. We finish a lot of games with Baby and KG as it is, and they're also looking at going with Rondo/RA/PP/Green/KG at times.

and that's at least one reason why you are not as upset about the trade as I am...I just don't think we can win a Title without that big man advantage...

I think it's why we made it to the precipice last year and ultimately didn't win.

  We still have the big four, and West and Green and Baby are good bench players. It's not like we're dependent on winning the center matchup to get by. But you're assuming that Krstic can't play reasonably well for us, that Green won't have a major impact and that Perk will be at full strength during the playoffs. None of those things have happened.

And Green and Krstic being major contributors hasn't happened....I just think, balancing the unknowns, I'd rather be waiting for Perk's return than hoping Krstic somehow plays a lot better than he did in OKC...

  How much better than he played in OKC does he need to play? How would the game he played in OKC fit in with our current team?

Well if he ends up having to start in the playoffs, then A LOT...

  You seem to know more about Krstic than most. What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? What does he do well that will make us better, and how much better will those traits make us? What does he do poorly that will cause us problems? I was expecting something a little more substantial than "A LOT".

Well his biggest weakness in terms of the Cs is his ability to rotate on defense. His biggest strength is like many have noted his jumper...

In terms of how the center position functions on our team, making quick and proper rotations on defense is much more important than knocking down shots. I would expect Nenad to be out of position quite a bit on defense...

[LooseCannon]

In terms of how the center position functions on our team, making quick and proper rotations on defense is much more important than knocking down shots. I would expect Nenad to be out of position quite a bit on defense...

Well, no, that's how Kendrick Perkins best functioned on the team.  For another center with a different strengths, those functions might have a different relative value. 

FWIW, I expect Krstic to be out of position less often than Shaq by the end of the regular season.  Footwork and positioning are supposed to be his relative strengths for a center.  If that is true, does that make Krstic a better fit for the team than Shaq?