nate robinson on Perk's reaction today:
“He’s taking it pretty hard because he’s been here eight years,” Robinson just said while checking out of the team hotel in Denver. “He was very emotional, crying. He has to move his family, and he’s been really tight with Rondo and other guys on the team. "
that comment breaks my heart - what will become of this team's will and chemistry, which i have considered to be their greatest strength. i saw these Celtics as the hungriest team in the league this year, feeding together off the pain of the game 7 loss. and i know very well that given similar levels of talent that hunger and a desire & will to win usually determines the who takes a playoff series. i would go so far as to say that this group of Celtics was desperate to avenge last year - they need this title more than anybody else in the league .............. that is a huge advantage. Danny might have just gutted that cumulative desire because i think Perk hurt more than anybody because he had to miss the last game.
Yes, it stinks to lose a guy like Perk, who I love dearly and am torn on this trade, especially for his teamates, but to say that guys like KG, PP, Rondo et al aren't competitors themselves and this will ruin them is a bit much. They aren't fools and know how the NBA works, and to say that this guts the team sells all those guys who are still there, and the maniacal competitiveness they have exhibited throughout their years playing this game, incredibly short.