Bleacher Report wrote a piece about the Boston Celtics’ swap of Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green being one that fans would want back.
The 2010-11 Boston Celtics were rolling, fresh off of an NBA Finals appearance that saw them take the Kobe Bryant (RIP) and Pau Gasol-led Los Angeles Lakers to seven games when they decided to shake up their core and add Jeff Green (as well as Nenad Kristic and a 2012 first-round pick)…at the expense of beloved locker-room leader Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.
Ultimately, the move didn’t pan out for the C’s. LeBron James quickly tackled his greatest Cavaliers demon with ease when he knocked Boston out of the second round of the playoffs in 2011. There’s always the thought of what could have been had Danny Ainge not messed with his starting lineup.
Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley recently listed the deal as one that should be redone if C’s fans had their choice:
"Tinkering with a championship core is always risky, so the return better be obviously worth it. This wasn’t. Ainge should’ve placed a higher priority on the present as Boston recovered to make a conference finals appearance the next season. If there wasn’t a better win-now offer on the table, the Celtics should’ve played it out with Perkins, pushed with all their might in the 2011 playoffs and let him walk in free agency."
Obviously, things played out the way they did for all parties involved. Robinson bounced around the league a bunch until retiring and moving onto things like boxing Jake Paul on the undercard of Mike Tyson’s return fight. Perkins stuck with the Thunder for several seasons afterwards and retired. Boston briefly rebuilt in the years that followed this deal, and are now back at the top of the standings.
What do you think C’s fans? Would you redo this trade? Or is there another on your mind?
Drop a comment below!