Last week, the Boston Celtics were favored to win an NBA championship.
Days later, many basketball analysts have changed their stance.
In a shocker, the Celtics traded starting center Kendrick Perkins, along with Nate Robinson, to the Oklahoma City Thunder, for Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green. While the trade makes sense for the future of the Celtics, because Perkins was on his way out the door after declining the extension offered to him earlier in the year, the present-day defending Eastern Conference champs may have lost the one true big man that can anchor their defense.
The Portland Trail Blazers were able to rake in former all-star Gerald Wallace, dealing Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham, and two first-rounders to the Charlotte Bobcats.
It took Goran Dragic and a first-round pick to send Aaron Brooks from the Houston Rockets to the Phoenix Suns. Houston’s focus is on the upcoming drafts, while the Suns can add Brooks to their run-and-gun system, where he should compliment them well.
The Rockets also sent Shane Battier to the Memphis Grizzlies, taking back a center that they desperately need in Hasheem Thabeet, and yet another first-round pick. Thabeet is a project, nonetheless, but the Rockets were targeting him and Chicago’s Omer Asik, and it was the Grizzlies that were looking at Battier to get minutes while Rudy Gay recovers from a shoulder injury.
In other deals, the Sacramento Kings sent their 2017 second round pick to the Celtics in exchanged for Marquis Daniels, who is out for the season due to injury. The Thunder traded D.J. White and Morris Peterson to the Bobcats, for Nazr Mohammed. The Cleveland Cavaliers handed over a 2013 second-round pick to the Celtics, in exchange for Semih Erden and Luke Harangody. Brandan Wright and Dan Gadzuric were sent from the Golden State Warriors to the New Jersey Nets for Troy Murphy and a second-round pick. Finally, the Toronto Raptors traded a 2011 first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls for James Johnson.
