The basketball world was stunned when Celtics boss Danny Ainge traded the team’s hitter in the paint Kendrick Perkins along with Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green. A lot of people probably thought “has he gone crazy?” “Did he want to get fired?” Why change one of the pieces that almost won you an NBA title? Has no sense. Perkins was a crucial piece in both of Boston’s championship races. Why waste time when you already have something good? The Celtics were already at the top of their conference in addition to being one of the top five teams in the league. It was absolutely unnecessary. Additionally, Kendrick Perkins offered numerous matchup difficulties. He was able to defensively switch opponents in the post, allowing Kevin Garnett to focus more on offense while also providing a low-post scoring threat if opponents focused too much on defending Garnett. Why the Celtics traded Perkins remains a mystery today.

The only logical reason I figured out was that Ainge wanted to give his team’s archenemy, the Los Angeles Lakers, a grudge before their Western conference fight. If the playoffs started today, the Lakers would have to face Oak City in the second round. Consider the fact that the Thunder gave the Lakers a hard time in last year’s playoffs, leading Los Angeles to six, along with the fact that if Kendrick Perkins hadn’t been injured, the Celtics probably would have beaten Los Angeles. the Lakers in the Finals. Sending Perkins to OKC would have given Los Angeles a hard time in the second round, leaving the Lakers battered when they face the San Antonio Spurs or Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers would either lose to San Antonio or struggle through a brutal seven-game series that would allow Boston to easily handle their opponent and regain their championship status. Their western rival would be settled without Boston having to lift a finger. Quite a tortuous plot, don’t you think?

However, Ainge’s plot went awry as his secret weapon has yet to play for his new team due to an ankle injury. Fortunately, her new pills have worked surprisingly well. Nenad Krstic was thought to be a failure. He played well while with the New Jersey Nets until he suffered a season-ending injury and never returned to form. The Nets didn’t even give him up and left Krstic to go back to Europe to play. After posting a promising season in Europe, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked him up and decided to give his NBA career a boost. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen as Krstic basically went invisible in his two-year stint with the Thunder. Nobody would have thought that he would suddenly wake up and he would start putting up 13.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting .557 from the field. Jeff Green has also performed well for the Celts off the bench. At 22.4 minutes, Green has been scoring around 10 points per game while shooting a career-high .500 from the field. If anything, Ainge’s new look, the Celtics, is even better now than it was before the trade, as the Celtics are 7-4 since the trade deadline.

With the playoffs just over a month away, the Celtics seemed poised to return to the NBA Finals and possibly win the NBA title. Celtics fans will miss Perkins’ gritty, tough play along with Nate Robinson’s energy and swagger; however, they have welcomed a rejuvenated Nenad Krstic and a future star in Jeff Green with open arms. The Celtics have also beefed up their lineup by adding cautious veteran Carlos Arroyo to back up Rajon Rondo at point and picking up shooting great Troy Murphy as an insurance policy if the broken duo of Shaquille and Jermaine O’Neal don’t make it. recover in time for the playoffs. The question is whether their new frontcourt can handle forces like the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard, whom Boston will likely face in the second round. So there will be plenty of fingers crossed in Bean Town as the Celtics will play with a lot of uncertainty coming their way. Fortunately for Boston, they have the talent and experience to pull through.