We all love Perk. But in spite of his close friendship with Rondo, he was a massive hinderance to Rondo's game was going to cost WAY more than his actual value. Again, Ainge did try to extend him for fair value but the gross overpricing of Perkins forced Ainge to make a trade.
While in hindsight getting Harden would clearly have been better, Green has displayed the past month or two that he is a fringe star player- something Perkins never has and never will be. He has displayed a TON of potential lately.
-Three point range
-Fantastic length and athleticism for dunks and layups
-Good to great game speed and the ability to run in transition
-A modest post game
-The ability to create his own shot and have an offense run through him
-Decent passing ability
-Elite defense
Lets not kid ourselves. Perkins would not have been a difference maker in that Miami series, and he would not have gotten us a higher seed to have homecourt vs Miami that year. The problem against Miami was we couldn't score. Last I checked Perkins was never a light-it-up type scorer.
Another thing that is huge is the repercussions of not splurging on Kendricks in a short sighted manner is this season. With Perkins on the books with Rondo and our team in a downswing the past couple years and limited financial latitude, who knows if KG and Pierce even return this season?
Green has been years more valuable than Perkins this season and the disparity will only continue to grow as Green taps into his ridiculous upside while Perkins continues to regress due to his knees falling apart and his lack of offensive game.