Anybody else agree that the worst part was not trading Perkins but...

[Vermont Green]

Hargangody  ------->    Pavlovic
Erden       ------->          Murphy
Robinson    ------->      Arroyo

We came out slightly ahead in each of these (for Nate remember he is owed $4.5M net year) although none of these moves really matter as West was going to take Nates minutes no matter what and none of the others plays either.  That leaves:

Perk        ------->    Green
                                Krstic
                                #1 Pick

We had to break in someone new for Daniels no matter what so the only downside is that Krstic had to get up to speed (which he never totally did) where as Perk already know the team.

[scaryjerry]

Nates scoring was missed, and he wasnt even used in OKC, so that was a bummer

Semih and Harongody wouldnt have sniffed playoff minutes regardless...Someone actually sggested what if Gody steals babys minutes? Well...never wouldve happened

[Mike-Dub]

I thought Semih played better than Troy in the first half, and have heard that Semih is probably going back to Turkey.  I would rather have had Semih for the second half of the year than Troy, but not this season I want us to resign Troy. I really wish we could have kept Nate though. 

I have a feeling Nate is going to have a bounce back year because I don't believe that he was healthy all year until he got the surgery in OKC where he had a short stint there.

[ScoobyDoo]

I would loved to have seen Gody get most of Baby's minutes, if for nothing else than to have lit a fire under Baby's backside.

But even outside of that, I liked Harangody, for alot of the same reasons I liked TA and Perk - that kid gets his nose "D-I-R-T-Y". Those players help you win games.

I would love to see Gody back on our team any way possible - I think he has a long future in the league as an 8th-10th man on the right team.

[Steve Weinman]

No, the worst part for me is that Jeff Green didn't play the way I thought he would.  Maybe next year?

Looking back, I don't think Green played that poorly, compared to how he played before.  The problem was they really weren't fully able to integrate him, so he didn't have the impact he should have had.

Yeah, agreed. You cant really knock Green for the way he played... He never really played bad at all really. He went from playing 35 minutes a game to about what, 17 - 18? if that. People were expecting him to put up the same numbers that he did in OK in half the minutes he was playing here and thats not fair. He played well, just didnt get enough minutes.

I think these are two vastly differing sentiments.

I agree with Chris' comment that Green didn't play badly compared to his body of work - but not because he didn't play poorly; rather, he wasn't especially good in Oklahoma City or Boston.

In Boston, he scored at a somewhat more efficient rate than he did in Oklahoma City, albeit not a terrific one by any means (slightly above-average true shooting rather than a slightly below-average true shooting) and otherwise remained a poor rebounder and poor defender. 

While it isn't is his fault that expectations from the masses at the time of the trade may have been greater than his past play merited, it is his fault that neither his play before nor after the trade merited lofty expectations. 

The fact that he didn't play much worse than his previously set standard of mediocrity is not a ringing endorsement.

-sw

[paulcowens]

The worst thing about the Perkins trade, other than that it ripped a hole in our starting lineup, in order to patch a hole in our bench, which was basically insane, was that it disrupted the team badly.  All the other people being traded magnified that effect.  Ainge pretty much gave up on the season, and then spent the next two months pretending.  What amazes me is that fans aren't more ticked off at him.

[paulcowens]

No, the worst part for me is that Jeff Green didn't play the way I thought he would.  Maybe next year?

Looking back, I don't think Green played that poorly, compared to how he played before.  The problem was they really weren't fully able to integrate him, so he didn't have the impact he should have had.

Yeah, agreed. You cant really knock Green for the way he played... He never really played bad at all really. He went from playing 35 minutes a game to about what, 17 - 18? if that. People were expecting him to put up the same numbers that he did in OK in half the minutes he was playing here and thats not fair. He played well, just didnt get enough minutes.

I think these are two vastly differing sentiments.

I agree with Chris' comment that Green didn't play badly compared to his body of work - but not because he didn't play poorly; rather, he wasn't especially good in Oklahoma City or Boston.

In Boston, he scored at a somewhat more efficient rate than he did in Oklahoma City, albeit not a terrific one by any means (slightly above-average true shooting rather than a slightly below-average true shooting) and otherwise remained a poor rebounder and poor defender. 

While it isn't is his fault that expectations from the masses at the time of the trade may have been greater than his past play merited, it is his fault that neither his play before nor after the trade merited lofty expectations. 

The fact that he didn't play much worse than his previously set standard of mediocrity is not a ringing endorsement.

-sw

You can hardly blame fans for having high expectations of Green.  The Trade was such a big gamble to take on the verge of the playoffs that it carried the expectation that Green would be something very special for us, right away.  Ainge fed that expectation, just as he fed the idea that Shaq would be back, better than ever.  The whole dog and pony act Ainge put on after The Trade was very cynical.

[17wasEZ]

The worst thing about the Perkins trade, other than that it ripped a hole in our starting lineup, in order to patch a hole in our bench, which was basically insane, was that it disrupted the team badly.  All the other people being traded magnified that effect.  Ainge pretty much gave up on the season, and then spent the next two months pretending.  What amazes me is that fans aren't more ticked off at him.

Shaq was in the starting line-up when the Celtics had the #1 seed in the East.  Perkins was the guy with two bad knees and two big braces on them for the rest of the season.  All anyone had to do was watch him finish the season with OKC and they would have realized that he wasn't half of the player we had been the year before.

Also, had Rondo not been injured and the Celtics lost, then DA would field a ton of blame.  But, with Rondo's injury, it didn't matter anymore.

As for people not being ticked off at Danny, injuries have brought the Celtics down for 3 straight seasons.  How is anyone gonna blame him for that?

[raynman]

... injuries + doc's inept coaching!

[Tgro]

I always thought Semih showed potential. I wanted to see him develop. I thought Nate was real streaky and could light things up on occasion. Unfortunately, he just didn't play as good this year as last to me and made himself look very expendable. I however thought he bled Celtic's for us while he was here, but we needed more than a motivating cheerleader. Looking back, the trade moved players and we may benefit going into the future because of it, but it robbed us of the chemistry of now and I think that chemistry we had kept us scrappy. Being injury depleted and with guys who didn't seem like Celtics just made it feel like this season wasn't anywhere close to working out. Its funny, going into the season I was excited. By the end of December, I thought we had it. By the end of April, you could tell we were done and the trades just looked like acts of desperation. I think they'll serve us well in the future, but I think there is something to be said about the chemistry of the here and now and it does feel like DA threw in the towel for this season and wished us on on a wing and a prayer. I'm not mad at DA. I think he did his best. I'm just hoping he has more tinkering to do to make us a powerhouse once again for the next year or two.

[LooseCannon]

If Ainge making the trade was motivated in part by a belief that Garnett and Pierce didn't have enough in the the tank for a long playoff run and he needed a starter-caliber backup behind them, and not just some career bench player, was he wrong to be worried about the need for depth behind his aging core?

This just brings me back to my wishlist for last off-season.  I thought the Celtics could really use a combo forward off the bench.  My idea was James Singleton, a tweener whose primary skills are rebounding and defense, but he went to play in China.  I saw his name just pop up on a list of players invited to a free agent mini-camp by the Oklahoma City Thunder along with a few other guys who I think are worth looks as gambles for the bench, familiar names like Stephane Lasme, Tony Gaffney, and Matt Janning, as well as Joe Alexander.  Ainge ended up trading for a player to fit that role.  He may have also drafted Harangody hoping he could play SF.

[PortCelt]

If Ainge making the trade was motivated in part by a belief that Garnett and Pierce didn't have enough in the the tank for a long playoff run and he needed a starter-caliber backup behind them, and not just some career bench player, was he wrong to be worried about the need for depth behind his aging core?

This just brings me back to my wishlist for last off-season.  I thought the Celtics could really use a combo forward off the bench.  My idea was James Singleton, a tweener whose primary skills are rebounding and defense, but he went to play in China.  I saw his name just pop up on a list of players invited to a free agent mini-camp by the Oklahoma City Thunder along with a few other guys who I think are worth looks as gambles for the bench, familiar names like Stephane Lasme, Tony Gaffney, and Matt Janning, as well as Joe Alexander.  Ainge ended up trading for a player to fit that role.  He may have also drafted Harangody hoping he could play SF.

Your instincts are spot on. First, the Perk/Green deal was as much about the future as it was finical ... and we know Danny had to address the wing position left vacant once Quis went down. After what we saw in the Miami series athletes like Green will be coveted this off season. I concur it's coming a year too late especially when you consider the Sheed, JO and Shaq signings. Danny gets a pass on Shaq because of the low risk contract. And to your point about PP and KG ...

1- The Heat were so good at blitzing the p/r that it completely took PP off his dribble to the point where he couldn't control it, or turn the corner and penetrate ... might not have been to disrupt the PP of a few years ago.
2- Garnett couldn't consistently get position to score in the paint (except game 3) ... started bricking his jumpers, and teetered out in games 4 and 5.
3- RA was not allowed space off the curl because the Heat closed so hard ... just more athleticism Miami's way.

Now with a full training camp under his belt will JG be able fill the vacuum? The answer is perhaps partially and probably no.  He will improve defensively, but his offensive numbers with OKC could be a byproduct of playing off two superstars. So if Green isn't the answer the names you mentioned are surely not either, and I guarantee that Danny is looking to make a bust out move rather than just stockpiling pawns on a chess board. But, does he have enough assets, and if not will player X be inclined to take his talents to Boston knowing the end of an era is closing fast?

[j804]

I'd take Semih back I wanted to see him develop as well