I’ve heard plenty of Celtics fans tell me why I am wrong, but count me in the group that thinks trading away Kendrick Perkins will come back to haunt Boston.
I’m not alone, Dan Shaughnessy ripped Ainge in Sports Illustrated when the trade went down. But Monday he gave Ainge a chance to defend the trade.
“I think we’re stronger. I think our offense and our defense will be every bit as good, if not better as long as we get some bodies healthy….
“First of all, we were leading the conference because of Shaq. We had a better record with Shaq than we did with Perk. Our offense was better and our defense was at least the same. I don’t think Perk is Perk yet. I hope that he becomes that for Oklahoma City’s sake. We thought it was going to take some time for Perk. He wasn’t the shot-blocker or the rebounder that he’s been in the past. We think that by adding Jeff Green (Green had 21 against the Warriors last Friday), Nenad Krstic, and Troy Murphy we think we’re a better team than we were. Shaq was starting for us when we had the great run this year. Baby (Glen Davis) was finishing for us. So we basically lost middle minutes.
Ainge has more trust in Shaq to be able to perform consistently in the playoffs — especially on the defensive end — than I do. He thinks more of Jeff Green than I do.
But Ainge knew the risks he was taking in a season where the Celtics had a real shot at a title. He would not have made a move he knew jeopardized the Celtics title team. He knew how this would be received by the veterans in the locker room
Credit Ainge for making a bold play. We’ll see how it turns out in May and June.
