As the dust settled on yesterday's trade deadline furor, one transaction in particular rose from the ashes, like the proverbial phoenix of legend, to steal the limelight on what was already a remarkable day.
The transaction in question, involving the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics and media darling Oklahoma City Thunder, hit league watchers like a runaway train, with few and far between predicting it.
Thunder GM Sam Presti played it near perfection, as he acquired Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson from the Celtics for the price of an aging Nenad Krstic and a stagnant Jeff Green.
The Krstic move was like for like and a clear upgrade for the Thunder, who were in desperate need for a defensive-minded center like Perkins.
The Green decision on the surface looks like the difficult one, but in actuality was almost as straightforward.
Although the Thunder were long committed to Green's athleticism and versatility at both forward spots, the nature of this relationship was in question with every passing month of the NBA season.
For a large portion of last season, most notably the playoffs, and all of this s ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Frezer Haile
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February 25th, 2011 by Frezer Haile Leave a reply »
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