Losing TA hurt us more than Losing Perk

[ScoobyDoo]

Perkins was one of my all time favorite Celtics - my list is Jo Jo White, Havlicek, Paul Silas, Cowens, Bird, McHale, KG, Pierce, Rondo and Perk.

I hated to see him go and I think with Shaq not having been able to come back, it did hurt us in these playoffs. The timing messed things up, it probably affected the chemistry and we definately could have used Perk hitting some players coming down the lane.

But I like Green with Rondo moving forward and Krstic will turn out to be a decent back up for us next season if he stays and I understand why the trade was made.

Another factor that probably weighed on the trade was that at 26 or 27, Perkins already has 8-9 years on his legs and by 30 he will be a 12 year veteran who's had at least one major injury and surgery on his knees. He's not a run jump athlete and I think the chances of him getting injured again are pretty decent.

Also, Ainge is going to build an uptempo team around Rondo. Perkins isn't the best fit for that. Green is a better "piece". And with Rondo only 24 or 25, we need a guy who can roll for another ten years with Rondo and Green.

All this being said, I think not having Tony Allen as that lock down wing defender off the bench at the 1,2 or 3 spot really, really hurt us. I think it hurt us way more than not having Perkins in the middle.

TA gave Wade, LeBron and Kobe fits. He would have come in very handy in the first half last night against Wade.

With KG and Jermaine, our D was reasonable in the paint. With Shaq healthy it would have been very good.

But we had no defensive answers at the wing after Pierce and Green, who "started" coming along as the playoffs wore on - and this, more than missing Perkins, killed us.

I was always a huge TA fan because I lvoed watching him get his nose dirty - much the way I enjoyed Posey, PJ, Powe and Perkins.

I would easily have matched and upped any offer Memphis was making for the three years TA was seeking. If Memphis offered $mil, I would have gone $4.5 without hesitating and closed.

But that's just my opinion of TA.

Thoughts?

Thoughts         

[Overrated]

With the injuries to the big men, the Cs got killed on the boards in the playoffs this year. Tony Allen would not have solved that problem, so I'd say losing Perk hurt more.

[cman88]

With the injuries to the big men, the Cs got killed on the boards in the playoffs this year. Tony Allen would not have solved that problem, so I'd say losing Perk hurt more.

the Heat played alot of "small ball" so perk wouldve been on the bench alot anyways..

however, having Tony to slow down wade/lebron wouldve helped alot

[ScoobyDoo]

Yeah, I agree re the boards, we definately suffered. But the impact TA would have had playing defense on Wade or LeBron would also have dramatically changed this series on the perimeter. We got absolutely destroyed by Wade blowing by Ray all night.

Perkins would have helped cover that weakness, for sure. But TA would have eliminated a decent amount of that penetration in the first place. Or made it significantly more difficult for Wade.

I think losing both guys hurt.  

[Roy H.]

The one place losing Tony really hurt was in the chain reaction it caused.  If we had Tony, it's likely that when Marquis went down, Tony could have stepped into that void (much like he did in Memphis for Rudy Gay) without us having to deal Perk.

Add Perk + Tony to this team, and I think we get by the Heat, injured Rondo or not.

[barefacedmonk]

Danny Ainge is what has hurt us the most this season.

[ScoobyDoo]

I've always been a big fan of the "tough" guys on this or any of the Celtic teams - Silas, Cowens, Bird, Powe, Perk, TA, etc. and as a GM I wouldn be very reluctant to let any of them go.

The main reason is that while most great teams start with the franchise level players -  Bird, Jordan, Magic, Duncan Durant, KG, etc... most championship teams also have that enforcer/ dirty work guy and these guys are not always just the biggest guy on the court...

Bowen, Rodman, Thorpe, AC Green, Rambis, TA, Perkins, Horace Grant, Oakley,

So yeah, I agree with you Roy. With Perk and TA I think we not only "get by" Miami, I think it's revered at 4-1, 4-2 Celts.

But as Miami isn't huge inside, I think if I had my choice between having Perk or TA to increase my odds winning this partiuclar series, I'd still have to choose TA on Wade and LeBron as having the most impact.

I say all this with a nod to Green moving forward, I think we will eventually be very happy with him sometime around mid to 3/4 through next season.

Understand the sentiment BFM, and while I understand why Ainge made the trade, it was a 50/50 move for me...

[Anomandaris]

TA didn't want to resign with Boston. Wanted to get out of the shadow of the big 3.  So there was no way that he would have played in Boston this year ( unless perhaps they offered him a rediculous amount of money, like twice what he's making now).

We lost TA, but nobody in the organisation can be blamed for that.

[missyP]

With the injuries to the big men, the Cs got killed on the boards in the playoffs this year. Tony Allen would not have solved that problem, so I'd say losing Perk hurt more.

TA would have stayed in front of Wade and slowed him down. Dwayne looked like a child born out of a Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway lovemaking out there.. simply because Ray is no lock-down defender.

[JohnBagleyValueMeal]

The really brutal thing is looking at Tony's deal with Memphis. 3 years, 10 million.

I think Nate had a 1 year deal for $4M, JO was 2 years for 12M, and Jeff Green is going to cost $6M for next year.

[Anomandaris]

The really brutal thing is looking at Tony's deal with Memphis. 3 years, 10 million.

I think Nate had a 1 year deal for $4M, JO was 2 years for 12M, and Jeff Green is going to cost $6M for next year.

Boston offered similar money to TA i believe.

[j804]

The one place losing Tony really hurt was in the chain reaction it caused.  If we had Tony, it's likely that when Marquis went down, Tony could have stepped into that void (much like he did in Memphis for Rudy Gay) without us having to deal Perk.

Add Perk + Tony to this team, and I think we get by the Heat, injured Rondo or not.

I agree it's obvious Wade just destroyed us and we had nobody to slow him down TA was that guy

[barefacedmonk]

The really brutal thing is looking at Tony's deal with Memphis. 3 years, 10 million.

I think Nate had a 1 year deal for $4M, JO was 2 years for 12M, and Jeff Green is going to cost $6M for next year.

Boston offered similar money to TA i believe.

Allen sought longer-term security and the Celtics were reluctant to give him a guaranteed third year.

[Bankshot]

I hate to say I told you so, but I did.  I said when Tony signed with Memphis that we were going to miss him greatly and that he was now in his prime so we were missing out on his best years for one lousy year at $3 million.  Danny thought Nate was worth more and that was probably a slight to Tony.

[Roy H.]

The really brutal thing is looking at Tony's deal with Memphis. 3 years, 10 million.

I think Nate had a 1 year deal for $4M, JO was 2 years for 12M, and Jeff Green is going to cost $6M for next year.

Boston offered similar money to TA i believe.

Allen sought longer-term security and the Celtics were reluctant to give him a guaranteed third year.

Yeah, here's even more detail on that:

His agent Derrick Powell negotiated him a three-year, $9.5 million contract, and tried to get the Celtics to match and keep him. When pressed for a rapid response, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge declined to match the offer and Allen’s heart crumbled.

“I didn’t think there was even going to be a negotiation with Boston,” Allen told Yahoo! Sports this week. “I didn’t think there would need to be a recruiting process. I just thought it would get done.

Link.