By now most people know Boston’s thinking behind their Kendrick Perkins-for-Jeff Green-and-Nenad Krstic deal: Perkins didn’t sign Boston’s extension offer, he was battling injury issues and president Danny Ainge needed a scorer—preferably a young one—to come off the bench.

But even though it’s obvious that the 235-pound Green isn’t suited to replace the 280-pound Perkins, the former still gets unfairly compared to the latter.

“Like I told everybody,” Green said to HOOPSWORLD. “I’m not trying to fill his shoes. I’m going to be my own player.”

Green stepped into a tough situation. The Celtics were a title-winning team with Perkins, who was beloved equally by teammates and fans. Nobody in Boston is rooting against the fourth-year forward from Georgetown, but Green knows it’s going to take time for the other players and the city to grow comfortable with him.

“It had to be the same position with Perk,” Green said of coming to a new team. “It was tough, but it’s something you’ve got to adapt to and try to transition to and make the best out of. I’m feeling better. It’s a process. It’s a long process, but it’s something that, being a player, you got to try to adapt to fast.”

The first thing Green has to adapt to is coming off the bench. He started 42 games for the Thunder this season, but likely won’t crack the Celtics’ starting five this year.

He’s also being asked to create less for himself.

Yes, he previously played with two elite perimeter players (Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook), but things are different on the Celtics. Paul Pierce takes 3-pointers from the top of the key and Ray Allen likes the wing. If Green is on the court with that pair, the corner 3-pointer—which some call basketball’s most efficient shot because it’s slightly closer and has a higher chance of being rebounded by the offense than other threes—suddenly becomes available.

“Most definitely on the swings because you’ve got Paul Pierce and Ray Allen—great shooters that we have to rotate to—so usually the corner three is the one that’s open,” Nets forward Travis Outlaw told HOOPSWORLD. “[Green is] very versatile. You can play him as a 3 or a 4. I think it gives their second unit the ability to run.”

So far Green has hit only four 3-pointers in his nine games with the Celtics, but he knows just how dangerous that shot can be.

“It’s worth three points,” he said. “It helps us spread the floor. You got a lot of weapons on this team, so I’m going to do the best I can to bring my talents on the floor. When you can spread the floor with a big and shoot the three in the corner, it creates a lot of options.”

Green hit 200 3-pointers over his second and third seasons, but his percentage has been falling since 2008-2009. Fortunately, Green now plays for a coach that specializes in cutting out unnecessary shots. Rajon Rondo, for instance, made only 41.8% of his field goals as a rookie, but has been able to push his career shooting percentage to 48.9% because Rivers encourages him to drive the lane and to only take open jumpers.

That kind of discipline can help turn a high-volume 3-point shooter (like Green was in Oklahoma City) into an efficient 3-point shooter (like Allen and Pierce).

Things haven’t gone perfectly for Green since being traded. The Celtics are only 6-3 since the deal and have lost three out of their last four. But now that he’s surrounded by so much experience, Green can handle this adversity by following the examples of Kevin Garnett and his other teammates.

“He’s great,” Green said of KG. “Having a guy who I looked up to growing up, it’s fun. His intensity, it kind of rubs off on people. I think it rubbed off on me a little bit.

“They’re all great guys,” Green continued. “They all work hard. You can see why they won a championship. I’m here to just follow their lead and get a ring on my finger.”

{AUTHOR_BOX}More Annoying: Stan Van Gundy or Sports Illustrated Poll?

Sports Illustrated is great at pulling in an audience even when the crowd doesn’t know exactly what it’s looking at.

As you may have heard, SI asked NBA players “Who is the most annoying coach during games?” and the 138 responses were eye-popping, if not misleading.

65% of those asked said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is the most annoying coach during games. Lakers coach Phil Jackson—who usually stays seated—was a was tied with Bucks coach Scott Skiles for a distant second place with just seven percent of the vote apiece. Nets coach Avery Johnson and his former coach, the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich, received four and three percent of the vote respectively.

But what can anyone make from this poll?

At the very least, we know that 90 NBA players think that Van Gundy is annoying. The criteria for annoyance isn’t really given, but it’s safe to assume that SVG’s banter with the officials may bother some people. Maybe it’s his loud, raspy voice that turned off that 65%. The point is, we don’t really know anything about SI’s methodology, and while it’s fun to throw stones under the blanket of anonymity, it’s another thing for people to stand up and say, “I believe that Stan Van Gundy is annoying because…”

What if 12 Miami HEAT and 12 Boston Celtics responded to SI’s poll? Wouldn’t that skew the numbers in SVG’s “favor?” Heck, one disgruntled former player could have told all of his current teammates to select Van Gundy.

Don’t get me wrong. These polls are fun and we all like to wonder what motivates someone to assign superlatives like “most annoying” to someone else, but please do not anything like this too seriously.

If anything, it probably means players are listening to Van Gundy more than other opposing coaches.

One last thing on the SI Poll: Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank and Bobcats owner Michael Jordan each received a vote. 

Humidors and Rings for Sale

Legendary Celtics coach and president Arnold “Red” Auerbach is defined by two things: winning and smoking.

Both of his favorite activities will be on display next month as three separate online auctions will feature 500 collectibles from the late Auerbach’s estate. According to an Associated Press report, Red’s 1962 NBA Championship ring—which he won as a coach—and his 1974, 1976 and 1981 championship rings—which he won as team president—will be available along with plenty of cigar paraphernalia. SCP Auctions of Laguna Niguel, California will handle the events.

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