Perk : “I want to be with the Celtics, but I got to think about my future.”

[Chris]

Perk is great, but he is hitting the point in his career where his pricetag is going to exceed his production.

  Is that how people normally describe the prime of a player's career?

For a roleplaying center, yes.

  Most of the centers in the league would fall into the role playing category. It depends on whether you want to overpay for individual production or individual contribution.

And most of the centers in the league are paid too much for a team that needs salary flexibility to reload on the fly.  

Basically, unless the CBA is dramatically different, I think the best tact to take is to fill your holes with guys on short term deals until you are able to obtain a star (or two) to compliment Rondo.  Then, once they are in place, you can start looking to compliment them using the assets that remain.

[hpantazo]

Perk is great, but he is hitting the point in his career where his pricetag is going to exceed his production.

  Is that how people normally describe the prime of a player's career?

For a roleplaying center, yes.

  Most of the centers in the league would fall into the role playing category. It depends on whether you want to overpay for individual production or individual contribution.

And most of the centers in the league are paid too much for a team that needs salary flexibility to reload on the fly. 

that's because quality centers are limited. Perkins is a solid starting center and one of the top defensive centers. Sure, he has offensive limitations, but everything ele he brings to the table will assure him a good salary this offseason. Unless Ainge has a solid plan for a top tier center (Dwight Howard or Kevin Love) then you have to pay Perkins and secure that spot for the future.

[Chris]

Perk is great, but he is hitting the point in his career where his pricetag is going to exceed his production.

  Is that how people normally describe the prime of a player's career?

For a roleplaying center, yes.

  Most of the centers in the league would fall into the role playing category. It depends on whether you want to overpay for individual production or individual contribution.

And most of the centers in the league are paid too much for a team that needs salary flexibility to reload on the fly. 

that's because quality centers are limited. Perkins is a solid starting center and one of the top defensive centers. Sure, he has offensive limitations, but everything ele he brings to the table will assure him a good salary this offseason. Unless Ainge has a solid plan for a top tier center (Dwight Howard or Kevin Love) then you have to pay Perkins and secure that spot for the future.

Why can't they fill that center spot after they have filled the more important spots?  And I am not talking about position (which is way overrated), I am talking about ability and production.

Centers don't win in this league.  Neither do point guards, or wings.  Talent and production does.  You can always fill in around the stars, but you need to have that core if you want to win.  Until they have that core, Perk is a luxury IMO.

[Fafnir]

Perk is great, but he is hitting the point in his career where his pricetag is going to exceed his production.

  Is that how people normally describe the prime of a player's career?

For a roleplaying center, yes.

  Most of the centers in the league would fall into the role playing category. It depends on whether you want to overpay for individual production or individual contribution.

And most of the centers in the league are paid too much for a team that needs salary flexibility to reload on the fly. 

that's because quality centers are limited. Perkins is a solid starting center and one of the top defensive centers. Sure, he has offensive limitations, but everything ele he brings to the table will assure him a good salary this offseason. Unless Ainge has a solid plan for a top tier center (Dwight Howard or Kevin Love) then you have to pay Perkins and secure that spot for the future.

What good is a secure center spot on a team that's too good to get a high draft pick, not good enough to win a title, and lacks cap space?

[Fan from VT]

I am all for bringing Perk back at a reasonable price if the Celtics have a way of adding two stars to replace KG, Pierce and Ray in the future. 

How about Durant and Kevin Love


Rondo, Delonte, Durant, Love, Perkins
Miller,  Ray(he will be forever), K. Martin ,BBD, Hibbert ( his price will drop after 2 horrible seasons)



a binki dinki dop

Last night I kept thinking "if there ever were a player destined to be a Celtic, it's Kevin Love".

I would love him to play for us but I have no idea where he will eventually end up (he's definitely going to be out of Minny).  

I will say that LeBron seems to be very interested in him.  J.A. Adande pointed this out recently that LeBron has brought Kevin Love up specifically, complimenting his play a couple times on Twitter and talking about him being stuck on a bad team in Minny, and what other player does he really mention by name that isn't a teammate? Maybe a superstar but even then not really.  

I bet he makes a big push to get him in Miami.

This would be scary, but How (I'm not ridiculing you, I'm interested to discuss this). I wonder how aware players are of salary cap rules. Barring major structural changes, Miami is going to have only the MLE to work with. Meanwhile, I think Love (20-15 this year, marked improvement each year, 22 years old, only 3rd pro year, shooting over .400 for 3's on 3 attempts per game...) is absolutely going to command close to a max deal. So he's not going to sign in Miami as a free agent for the MLE; it'll need to be a sign and trade. So the question is, who is Lebron going to stab in the back? You know he'll have to ok a major break up of the Heatles. Will he boot Bosh out of town on a sign and trade? Would Love use his leverage to demand such a deal? By the time Love is up for sign and trades, Wade will be slightly older...Would the T-wolves even want high-mileage, over 30 Wade at that point? Would Wade show up in Minny? would Lebron stab Wade in the back?  Interesting stuff; I don't see another max/near max player joining that squad unless they deal Wade or Bosh, and I'm not sure a lot of teams want either at the point they'd be dealt (Wade is not good for a rebuilding team; Bosh is demonstrating how overhyped he's been for max dollars).

Now, If I were Miami, I'd seriously consider offering Perk the full MLE next year. You'd weaken a major rival and get your bruiser/dirty work/size guy to let the others do their thing.

[MBunge]

I think what you arent taking into account though is that while Perk is a good center in this league, his value is greatly diminished for a team that isnt competing for a title.  Once the big 3 are gone we need to have the cap flexibility to sign FA's to pair with Rondo to get us to that contender level.  If we have Perk on the roster at the point he will still be a good player but we won't be able to sign that max level guy that would bring us to contention.

Have you ever heard the expression "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"?  The only reason Boston has been AT ALL appealing to free agents the last few years is because it was already a contending team.  Once the New Big 3 are gone, don't expect FAs to flock here they way they do to LA or Miami.  Letting Perk walk to chase after a max level guy, particulary when even if you get that max guy you'd still need to go out and find a legitimate NBA center, is a very risky game to play.

Mike

[MBunge]

What good is a secure center spot on a team that's too good to get a high draft pick, not good enough to win a title, and lacks cap space?

Why would any free agent want to come to a team that has NOTHING except Rondo, an aging Pierce and scraps?

Mike

[jarufu]

So:

Centers are usually overpaid in the league
You pay for feet and inches
Boston ain't free agency destination #1
Everyone of his peers makes 8-12m
If we don't re-sign, we still gotta sign someone
Perk wants to play here


Match any reasonable offer if you ask me .. as long as his knees hold up.

[Fafnir]

What good is a secure center spot on a team that's too good to get a high draft pick, not good enough to win a title, and lacks cap space?

Why would any free agent want to come to a team that has NOTHING except Rondo, an aging Pierce and scraps?

Mike

A team coming off being title contenders for the last five years, with a max deal offer, a top flight NBA point guard, and a HoF veteran wing man.

The situation sounds better already. Does Perkins make the C's a more attractive option? Not really, what his contract could do is keep the C's from even being an option.

Can the C's with Rondo, Perkins, and an aging Pierce contend going forward?

[Finkelskyhook]

Perk is a luxury IMO.

I'd hardly call the anchor of the NBA's best defense a luxury.

[Fafnir]

Perk is a luxury IMO.

I'd hardly call the anchor of the NBA's best defense a luxury.

You're right KG isn't a luxury.

[celtics2]

He's got it right. It is a business. He's a liability with the shoulder and knee. If I were him I would take the highest bidder. Assuming it may be well above what the Celts would offer. I think he'd maxed out his progression curve. A very good defensive center with minimal offensive skills. So he's no franchise. He's young but scarred. I think the Celts make a decent pitch but not overwhelming.

[hpantazo]

What good is a secure center spot on a team that's too good to get a high draft pick, not good enough to win a title, and lacks cap space?

Why would any free agent want to come to a team that has NOTHING except Rondo, an aging Pierce and scraps?

Mike

exactly. I'm not saying give Perk a max deal, but we will have a lot of cap space soon, using some of it to keep Perk is smart imo unless you are targeting a premier FA center. Who's going to come to our team if all we have is Rondo? We are going to have a hard enough time convincing any good FA's to come here as it is, since this is a cold weather place without the media spotlight of NY.

[hpantazo]

What good is a secure center spot on a team that's too good to get a high draft pick, not good enough to win a title, and lacks cap space?

Why would any free agent want to come to a team that has NOTHING except Rondo, an aging Pierce and scraps?

Mike

A team coming off being title contenders for the last five years, with a max deal offer, a top flight NBA point guard, and a HoF veteran wing man.

The situation sounds better already. Does Perkins make the C's a more attractive option? Not really, what his contract could do is keep the C's from even being an option.

Can the C's with Rondo, Perkins, and an aging Pierce contend going forward?

I don't see the logic in this. How does keeping Perkins mean that you can't go for a FA? Having contended for the last 5 years doesn't mean anything to a FA that looks at the roster and sees Rondo plus a bunch of scrubs and an old Pierce. Yea, Pierce is a future HOF player, but would a top FA have wanted to sign on a team with an old Karl Malone or an old Charles Barkley for example?

[blceltsfan]

We not only have Perk's $$$$ to consider but Baby is up as well. I would consider swapping Perk and Baby for Green (a young gifted foreward who wasn't offered a contract by OK) and Aldridge has Perkins size, and has better offensive skills who would have time with Shaq and JO to mature, and save money when the contracts are up this summer.