Celtics Far From Finished
For a team that’s sitting atop the Eastern Conference the Boston Celtics certainly approached the 2011 NBA trade deadline with a sense of urgency. After having a wide array of conversations with a number of teams, they ultimately did something no one expected, trading starting center Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, with Nate Robinson heading to OKC as part of the deal. Boston received the LA Clippers’ 2012 first round pick from OKC, as well.
In a subseqent deal, the Celtics sent Luke Harongody and Semih Erdan, receiving a second round pick in 2013 from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Finally, the Celtics sent Marquis Daniels to the Sacramento Kings for cash. Daniels is injured and likely to miss the rest of the season. Sacramento just needed to add some salary in order to get above the NBA’s minimum salary requirement.
{AUTHOR_BOX}For the Celtics there were two agendas here. First, they wanted to save some money and clear some roster spots. Second, they wanted to get deeper and a bit younger, as well. In Jeff Green they get a solid back-up to Kevin Garnett who will benefit from their battles in practice. When Garnett’s day are over, the aptly-named Green will have been groomed to replace him.
It’s a bit of a surprise to see Perkins delt, but the reasoning behind it is clear. The team played quite well without him earlier in the season, climbing to and maintaining the East’s top seed, and as a free agent this summer he was widely believed to be OKC’s primary target. Set to likely lose him anyway, Boston took the proactive approach, getting something of value in return. Nenad Krstic is a capable starter and Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal are still in the picture, as well. Boston will be fine at the five.
Now the fun begins. With all of their moves, the Celtics have three open roster spots, and they plan to wait until players are waived and then add some pieces to fortify their bench. Expect Troy Murphy to be in Green before long, with TJ Ford a likely second choice. There’s a decent chance Nate Robinson gets bought out by the Thunder, as he is not the type of player they usually covet, and he could wind up back in Boston, as well.
Solid moves all around for the Celtics. It will be interesting to see what other business they get accomplished in the coming days.
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