A different take on the trade

[BlueDog]

I have waited a couple of days to post this because like many of you, I was/am a huge Kendrick Perkins fan and emotionally this hurt.  Now that the pain has passed, I wanted to give a different take that comes less out of emotion.

Many people have compared this to the trades Red DIDN"T make to get value for Larry and/or Kevin.  We hear that Ainge "agonized" over it and assume that it was him making a difficult/marginal call between Green's youth and offence vs. Perk's defense and contribution to team chemistry.  If he thought that were the trade-off, it would seem to me to be very difficult call.  Many posts have eloquently laid out the trade-offs both short ( Playoff SF match-ups, contract issues etc) and longer term.

However, the more I think about it, Ainge may have another trade model in mind- the one that brought DJ to town for Rick Robey.  The analogy isn't perfect but consider that:

* Robey was a highly thought of teammate who had contributed as a functional big man to a championship team- not as integral as Perk but a key role player

* He was "old" and injured for his age- in fact only played 3-4 more years for Suns

* DJ was out of position as a shooting guard for Suns-and as someone pointed out about Pippen, you just don;t get top tier production playing out of position- you can survive and contribute to your team but not thrive

* Unlike Green, DJ clashed with coaches but we know he later became truly the perfect teammate according to Bird so I bet there was some knowledge that he was a quality person

* DJ was older and more accomplished than Green but both were thought of as elite physical talents - and importantly (to me) BIG for their proper positions- PG/SF


I think Ainge agonized because of Perk's intangibles--  but in fact if you got him alone, he would say this was a "no-brainer" . I think he thinks Green is All-Star caliber NBA talent who is undervalued because he is playing out of position at PF watching Durant and Westbrook run isos in OKC.  He would never have risked the reaction he is getting from his vets for a marginal trade.  He expects Jeff Green to be the 5th best player on this team today- and become part of the core of this team as Pierce, Garnett and Allen's  minutes decline. I hereby predict that Green will match the All-Star appearances DJ made for us- I think 3?


Two additional thoughts:

First, I think Green's character played a major role here as Ainge knew what he was going to have to deal with walking into that locker room.  I sincerely hope (and trust) that the C's understandable hurt over losing their brother Kendrick doesn;t translate into any long term backlash against Green

Second, I think Murphy was a major risk mitigant for whatever concerns Ainge had about losing Perk.  I have watched a LOT of Troy Murphy over the years.  He would be a HUGE upgrade to this team.  He is just flat a better rebounder and offensive player than Perk by miles- and a better defender than many think- he doesn;t get overpowered in low post.  There is nothing to be read into his situation in NJ that;s about him- I put blame on Avery Johnson.  Murphy is a legitimate starting center/PF on any NBA team- and Boston fans will love his mix of skill and toughness


If I am right about both these guys- Ainge will have pulled off a major steal- and like Auerbach- should put other GMs on alert that they need to be careful when he calls

I know like any analogies this is a stretch in some ways- but I think it may reflect how Ainge was thinking in a way I haven't heard discussed

[csfansince60s]

Here's your first TP for your first post, with much of which I agree.

Welcome.

[Roy H.]

TP for a fresh take (and welcome to the blog).  As you said, Robey wasn't as good as Perk, and I don't consider Green to be in the same stratosphere as DJ, either.  That said, some of the parallels are interesting.

I'm not so much against tweaking a championship roster.  Red did it, trading away Cedric, Henderson, and Westphal, among others.  The big difference to me, though, is that Red made all those trades in the off-season.  I think trading a key guy in the middle of the year just throws your team into flux.  Obviously, the Perk situation is a bit different since he hasn't played a whole lot, but I think the off-court chemistry issues are no less than if he had started every game.  Even the on-court chemistry is a concern.  For instance, here's Doc (as quoted by David Aldridge):

"He knows our stuff so well," Doc Rivers said in late January, just before Perkins returned to the lineup. "It's amazing, in the practices. We've been good offensively this year, but when he's in practice, we're really good. Because we can run stuff that we ran two years ago out of a (timeout) that he knows. And timing and all that stuff is so important, and he gets all of that."

So, that's the issue that concerns me, but let's hope it all works out.  On paper, we won the trade.  On the court, time will tell.

[RebusRankin]

Excellent take ans use of Celtics history.

[ScoobyDoo]

Welcome BlueDog and here's a TP for you, nice post and agreed with alot of it. Obviously Perk was more integrated than Robey but I see the parallels and I think Green may suprise us as well.

Also, I like that we're not tying up big cash on Perkins and I think Green could be exactly the type of player for his position that we will be putting around Rondo as we build our next championship team; a guy who can get up and down the court "with" Rondo.

I'm not knocking our current team, I love this team. But the next one, built around a still young Rondo, is going to be a high octane one. 

[BlueDog]

Thanks for the TPs!
Anything that moves me from Gerald Green to Semih Erden has to be good right?

Actually I am new at this and it was nice not to get lashed out at for posting a different view- thanks again

Hope we see Green with some clue as to what team is running tonight

[Celtics4ever]

Trading Robey hurt Larry's feelings but it helped his game as there were less late nights.