The news that the Celtics had traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic shocked many in the basketball world. It also apparently came as a huge surprise to Perkins' teammates.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celtics are "livid."
As you'd expect, Celtics vets are livid over trade of Kendrick Perkins, sources say. He's the tough guy, enforcer. But BOS can't pay him.
Which isn't surprising, of course (thoughts and prayers to the person charged with the task of informing Kevin Garnett that Perkins has been sent off, by the way). The Celtics got their much-needed wing player in Jeff Green, along with Nenad Krstic, who is a serviceable center, but replacing Perkins won't be easy, both on and off the court (particularly the latter where his teammates are concerned I'd imagine). And the draft pick helps too, of course, but it doesn't help this season.
Suddenly, Boston's left with Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, and Nenad Krstic as their primary big man. And without Kendrick Perkins, the defense that owned Dwight Howard for the past few seasons suddenly looks a lot more manageable. It's not to say that Boston is suddenly mediocre without Perkins, but... Well, if this is Danny Ainge's grand plan, you can understand why guys like Paul Pierce and Garnett might be a little upset.