The Boston Celtics deadline deal on Thursday that sent Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder sent shock waves through the NBA -- and through the Celtics locker room. Before the game in Denver, we learned (via Robinson) that Perkins "was real emotional, crying." And who could blame him? He's been with Boston since he was just 19 years old. In a lot of ways, he very much grew up with these guys.
Those family-like teammates were just as hurt, as Sherrod Blakely reported that the Celtics were "seriously hurting" in a quiet locker room. Those feelings continued after the loss to the Nuggets.
"A tough day to play basketball, you know?" Garnett said. "A very tough day to play basketball. To even concentrate, to be bluntly honest. It's not even about a teammate, it feels like we lost a family member today."
Garnett was not the only player who voiced his honest emotions.
Added Paul Pierce, "It was very emotional, especially for me being that I had a chance to see Perkins grow up from Day 1 fresh out of high school seeing him get to the level he got to on a championship team.