Agreed.
Let's not over-react and bring Perk down to TA's level now.
+1.
The same TA that is thriving in Memphis, with a PER of 17.2, which would be the 4th highest on our team? Even more impressive considering PER doesn't even take TA's greatest strength into account, being his defense. I'm not saying he is better than Perkins, as Perk is clearly a more important player, but TA's "level" is far from a bad thing.
As for the actual deal...Perkins going hurts, nevermind the fact that he was one of my favorite players, but he was obviously a great, great defender, and had old school attitude which was a great fit here. With that said...it's not some championship window ending trade. As great as he was on defense, he was an offensive liability, which is why he didn't play down the stretch of games quite a bit. The move is risky, beause it is banking on the health of the O'Neal's, and potential buyouts, but there is some serious upside to it as well. The OP's notion is ridiculous though, as far as importance, one is the starter on a championship contending team, and the other is a 3rd wing.