I was for it at the time and still am for it. Perkins isn't worth the money he's getting, but that's the market. Not his fault. You use the money you saved on his contract and get another body in here that is better than Perkins.
Not sure how anyone can be against it. You got 2 pieces for 1. Green, and the Clippers 1st round pick. 2 solid pieces at that.
I believe Ainge always has a plan, and he's already thinking above and beyond. He's always prepared and there is a reason for everything. My gut feeling tells me Ainge is going to ultimately combine 1 of the 2 first round picks (Celtics own, or the Clipper pick, whichever is worse) with a player to get up to the top 10 in this deep draft.
i.e. Celtics or Clippers pick + Rajon Rondo = Top 10
The only other question is, who is he targeting in this deep draft ? Austin Rivers is the likely candidate, but you never know with Ainge. A Pierce future replacement ? Big man ? Shooting guard to replace Allen ?
he won't have to move up to draft Rivers unless a lot changes before the draft.
I suspect that if Rivers isn't slated for a lottery pick, he'll stay at Duke another year.
If I was Rivers (coming from a family with more money than you can shake a stick at) I'd think about coming out in a situation like that. I'd probably just as soon start out my career on a 40 win team than wait a year to join a 22 win team that will probably be a much less stable situation.
That's a fair point. From what I've read of him, though, it seems like he considers himself a star, and I think he'd probably rather spend another season growing into an even more prominent role for a successful Duke team than get selected in the middle of the 1st round and become a role player on a team that already has a bunch of players fighting for spots.
As you said, he comes from a fairly wealthy background, so he shouldn't be concerned about getting paid right away.