At the 2011 NBA trade deadline, the Boston Celtics made a move that sent shockwaves through the league when they traded veteran star Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The big man was Boston’s defensive backbone, especially during its championship-winning season in 2007-08. As a fan favorite, many in the Bean Town expressed their disapproval of the trade.
Surprise deals happen all the time. However, Perk expected more than just being easily let go by the Boston franchise, considering how he had served them for many years. The now NBA analyst has never forgotten that moment.
“Ever since that day, I take it as a business,” Perkins said on the “Come And Talk 2 Me”. “I could never trust the NBA organization to say that they’re my family. I would never say that because I’ll be lying, it's not a family. Like, it’s not a family because as soon as they’re done with you, they’re done with you.”
The trade out of Boston
As the trade deadline approached, the Celtics, led by president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, worked quickly to finalize deals. When the dust settled, two trades had been completed, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers and another with the Thunder.
The biggest name to move was starting center Perkins, a key figure on the Celtics who was among the league’s top rebounders the year Boston won the title. His trade to Oklahoma City also marked the end of his eight-year stay with the green and white.
Big Perk had been battling a knee injury since Game 6 of the 2010 NBA Finals, and in the final year of his contract, he was set to make about $4.6 million. Despite multiple attempts, the two sides couldn’t agree on an extension. Perkins was clear that he was only interested in a one-year extension to test the free-agent market soon after. The Celtics, not willing to lose him for nothing in the offseason, made the tough decision to trade him and get something in return.
“Loyalty can only be one-sided at times,” the retired big man continued. “I mean… I just look around the league and bring up the whole situation when it comes down to, you know, me with the Boston Celtics right now… I didn’t feel that way when [Boston] traded me in 2011. When you felt you had enough with Shaq[uille O’Neal] and Jermaine O’Neal and then you realize me and [Kevin Garnett] actually had something special on the defensive side of things. But at the end of the day [it’s business].”
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Did it end too early?
The NBA analyst made the point that even when a player has given their all to a team, business decisions can sometimes override loyalty, as was the case with his trade.
The decision that sent Perkins packing didn’t just surprise fans; it was also hard on the Celtics players. The center was the kind of competitor who brought his A-game every night, and his presence in the paint made life a lot easier for the rest of the starters. On offense, he contributed vital points and grabbed key rebounds, while his toughness and grit on defense were essential to holding down the fort.
It was a bit of a mystery why the Celtics’ front office was willing to break up a roster that had just made it to the Finals the previous year and was always in the conversation as a championship contender.
There’s even a lingering belief among fans that had Perkins not suffered that knee injury in Game 6 of the 2010 finals, Boston might have won Game 7 in Los Angeles against the Lakers and brought home another banner. But that's the story for another time.
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