AINGE ON BIG SHOW: PERKINS HEALTH A CONCERN

AINGE ON BIG SHOW: PERKINS HEALTH A CONCERN
By: Paul Flannery
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Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge joined The Big Show to talk about the trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City and how he sees the new pieces fitting for his team. Ainge reitterated that there were a number of factors that led to the trade including the financial ramifications of a new contract for Perkins, who would have been a free agent after this year, as well as the chance to add players who can help the Celtics win this year. But Ainge was also concerned about Perkins' knees.

"I was worried about Perk's health," Ainge said. "Perk was not the same player coming off the knee surgery and then he had the sprained knee ligament against Golden State that was going to put him out for a few more weeks. There was some concern there." Ainge added later in the interview, "There's one thing I would never question with Kendrick is his integrity, his character, his work ethic. He's a great young man and individual, but I've never seen a guy come back what they were especially as quick as he came back. He came back, which is to his credit. That tells you what kind of character he has. That was an amazing feat. He didn't just have an ACL tear. He had an MCL partial tear. he had a meniscus tear in the same knee. But he was not the same player, then he had the injury against Golden State in the other knee. So, yeah. Of course there's doubt."

Ainge said that while the trade does help with their future rebuilding efforts, he never would have done the deal if he thought it would have cost his team a chance at winning a championship this year. "I would have never done that if I thought we were taking a step backwards for this year," Ainge said. "With this unique opportunity with the big four trying to win a championship right now, if I thought we were taking a step back I would have sacrificed that for a chance to win this year."

Ainge also said that he talked with Perkins' agent over the All-Star break and tried to convince them to sign an extension with the team, but that they were determined to test the market. Perkins later signed an extension with Oklahoma City who had more room under the cap to offer a larger deal. "I knew what the open market had in store for Kendrick Perkins so I'm not shocked at all that Oklahoma City gave Kendrick the money that they gave them. That was not something we could do with the payroll we have. That was completely out of the question."

Here are some other highlights from the conversation:

On the upgrades to the bench: "Our success this year will be determined more by those four, our four All-Stars more than anyone else. Now Doc [Rivers] looks down the bench and he has a three-year starter that's 24 years old in Jeff Green. A guy that started two years ago on the team with the best record in the NBA at point guard in Delonte West. Troy Murphy who's' been a starter his entire career and is only 30 years old. He looks down the bench and sees nothing but starters."

On Jermaine O'Neal: "He looks great. He looks better now than he did in training camp. Jermaine was talking about retirement and wondering if he had it. Tough decisions going back and forth. I think now he wishes he had done the surgery a little earlier. His spirits are up, he's putting the time in, I think we'll have the good Jermaine." Ainge estimated a time-table for his return at around three weeks.

On Rivers' biggets coaching challenge: "Doc toughest job is the Jeff Green piece. The most difficult transition is going to be Jeff Green because Jeff is so capable of playing so many different things to maximize his talents. he's got so much to offer I think that's Doc single focus seeing the things he can do and how to best utilize him."

112288

I found this interview very enlightening. I listened to it also. Danny didn't seem to be hedging at all when he basically told the fans that sure, money had something to do with this deal, but Perk's all around health was a major concern. Makes you wonder.
I loved the kid, but, right from the day they announced the trade, it made some sense to me. Now, listening to Danny, it even makes more sense.

I gather that Doc was on WEEI in the AM, and he alluded to the fact that there were some players who knew about this trade before it took place and agreed that it was the right thing to do. That makes sense to me, but they sure did a good job of acting when it took place!

Well Danny two things I got to say on your comments about Perk:

1) Nice excuse to get out of hot water;
2) if your concerns were from the heart and a medical opinion, nice to open your big mouth the next time someone is going to trade with you they'll think your peddling damaged goods!

I don't buy that other players knew and if true what are they going to do have a team boycot!
112288

112288

I don't have any issue with it.
And I don;t see how this will affect any trade in the future OKC also made the trade too and must think Perk is well enough not only to take in trade but to then extent him to money we did not have.

Just my opinion.

beat

1. Danny articulated a health concern I've had with Perk for a long time.

2. If Danny wanted to lie about other players knowing, he'd be pretty stupid to do so publicly. Because it would be a simple matter for the players to leak a refutation to the press.

Sam

Sam,

1) Outside of shoulder problems which was repaired 2 summers ago, Perks knees were fine out side of the usual wear and tear. Did you.

2) Second out of respect I am sure right before he pulled the trigger(announced), Pierce, Allen and Garnett or just Pierce as captain and Garnett as power forward who would be affected by the trade were told out of respect. But it was already a done deal. Think about it, would you ask KG or PP if he (Danny) should pull off the trade or keep Perk and then not do the trade if challenged by KG and PP. Noooooo! because if the trade did not happen, word would have gotten back to Perk and then you have a pissed-off player!

It was a fete de compli!

112288

So who's running the team KG PP RA? Or DA?

So what if he did ask/tell them the move was going to be made?

Why would he lie about it?

beat

Beat

The way Danny is posturing himself it is sounding like he went to some players and asked...what do you think..should I do this? I have known personally a very successful Gm in hockey (Hall of Fame) Bill Torrey and we used to chat about his trading philosophy and even in the day of Mike Bossy, Brian Trots non of the elite players were told about the Billy Harris to LA trade which was similar to Perks position with the Celtics. He kept that air tight and told me if I consulted with some of my players prior to making the trade to ask them if this was a good trade: 1) I would have lost all respect and showed weakness, 2) Next trading deadline, I would have players looking over their backs at who I was talking to on the team. I could go on but the point I am making is yea he may have said something to a few players but it was a fete de compli already!

112288


Because it is still a hot potato and if they don't make it to the finals Danny got a lot of explaining to do...not to mention a lot of tickets to sell next year!

Good point 112288 about the damaged goods. I found that rather odd coming out of his mouth after all this went down. Can't make OKC feel too good. Although it is his opinion and injuries are part of the game, owners and gms know this. OKC seems to have moved on.

dbrown 112288

the damaged goods thing was a big question to me from the get go. Think of how many trades get canned because a party involved fails the new teams physical. OKC had to know this is a risk right from the get go but said OK lets roll the dice. Sort of like the guy that bought my 1980 Firebird with a damaged engine. After he drove it out the driveway and the fact the engine blew 2 months later was his problem.

Yet OKC not only said yes to the trade, but without even seeing him preform in a game................signed him to a 4 year extension.

Just have a tough time getting a handle on that part of it.

Oh well it is what it is and at least we have 2 healthy bodies for one not healthy one. Cause we are really gonna be short handed for a bit longer so it seems.

beat

Beat,

You are right. I am sure the docs checked him out or there would be no 4 year deal. I just feel loose lips sink ships. Just let sleeping dogs lie! Hell if it blows up for OKC and Perk, at least then Danny could plead the "alter boy" ...who me know that Perk was damaged?

Also the way Danny and the organization are so tight lipped about injuries to our players during the year, you would think it would be carried over to a traded player.

112288

112288

I hope Perk goes on and plays we'll. I think all of us hope that, cept when he's playing us of course.

beat

beat wrote:So who's running the team KG PP RA? Or DA?

So what if he did ask/tell them the move was going to be made?

Why would he lie about it?

beat

Completely agree. All this conspiracy talk is nothing but unsubstantiated conjecture.

Danny Ainge is RUNNING the show in Boston. Anyone that thinks otherwise, has had their head burred in the sand for the last 5+ years.

He is not asking Pierce or KG for their approval - simply informing them as veterans that he respects. My CEO informs me of lots of stuff. I dont have any sort of veto power, but as a matter of respect - he loops me in . Same thing here.

Stop trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. The Perkins ship has sailed...time to move on.

People are quick to jump on Danny for not being as free as they'd like in putting out information. Then, when he does put out information, they're equally quick to jump on him because they don't like what he says.

People are angered because Danny traded Perk because of the possible consequences for this season. At the same time, people are placing far more importance than I do on home advantage in the playoffs. Well, if Danny hadn't traded Perk, what would the Celtics lineup look like for at least these three weeks of the season, especially with Semih being anything but reliably available? Johnson and Davis sharing the center position? Oops, I mean Johnson and maybe Murphy now? Someone please tell me what playing for three weeks with those options at center might have done to the Celtics' won/lost record for the season.

If anything, Danny may have saved the season already by providing the Celtics with a healthy, complementary center during this period of time. I don't believe that was even close to his major objective in making the trade. But, the way it turns out, it totally supports his contention that he thought the trade (and moves that followed) would help the team this season.

Oklahoma City took Perk in trade with full knowledge of precisely what risks there were. Danny didn't sell them any damaged goods they didn't know about. They not only leaped at the chance to get Perk, but also they didn't even wait until they could see him healthy in one game before extending his contract for four years.

Only time will tell about Perk's health, and I hope it's good news for him. But he has been rebounding with one hand since the shoulder problem, trying to snag the ball with one hand and bring it down to grasp it with two hands. Maybe the shoulder's good enough for him not to favor it, but his rebounding propensities don't suggest that.

Some players have a problem that could become chronic with the passage of time. Perk has two. And, while people are worried all over the place about Baby's weight, Perk's not exactly a featherweight pounding around on those knees.

I haven't read or heard that any of the players is threatening that Danny will have a lot of 'splainin' to do if this or that doesn't happen. They're just acting professional and doing their best on the court. As fans, we could benefit by following their example.

It is definitely time to wish Perk all the best and start focusing on the realities the Celtics are now dealing with as they try to win a championship. My number one rule as a Celtics fan is to try to emulate the players' approach to dealing with issues that arise. The players obviously have had lingering problems about the departure of Perk, but they're doing their level best to accentuate the positive; and it has resulted in a 3-0 record since the trades.

Go Celtics!

Sam

First of all, when I mentioned in my post that some of the players knew about this potential trade, the information came from Doc Rivers , not Danny Ainge.
He was interviewed on the morning show Thursday and gave that information.

Second of all, there is no question in my mind that Danny is running the show here in Boston. He really doesn't care what you or I have to say about this deal, he made it on his own, for the benefit of the entire Celtics team.

Thirdly, the main issue Danny had with keeping or trading Perk was his contract. There is no way the Celtics would have given him $35 plus million dollars and a $2 million dollar signing bonus. It just wasn't going to happen.
So, would you all have liked for him to walk away the way LeBron did, and get some crappy draft choices that the league orders, or is getting Jeff Green and Kristic an answer.

Listen, as I have said before many times since this started last week, I love
Perk, I admire what he has done over the last eight years. I have watched him grow from a young man into a terrific player, father, husband, et al. God knows, I think there are many of us who thought Perk would always be here, just like Pierce. It just wasn't meant to be.

As someone who has watched the ups and downs of this team for 50 plus years, I am thrilled that we have taken a step toward the future, yet will
reap the benefits now. I have been worried this year that we were going to burn out Paul Pierce, play him so many minutes that he just had nothing left
at the end of the season and the playoffs. I now am more positive about this year. Green will not only spot Pierce, he will come in and allow Delonte and Rondo to play together at times.

I guess what I am saying is the same as Sam. I wish nothing but the best for Perk, but I look forward to the rest of this year, the championship run, and the future.

As always, a positive thinker!

Rosalie