I Did Not Expect To Wake Up This Morning And Find Myself In A Twitter Fight With Kendrick Perkins Over The Boston Celtics

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I think it's fair to suggest that everyone is a little on edge today. That's what happens when your favorite team is on the verge of being swept in the ECF in what would be without question, a colossal failure from everyone involved. Let's start there. None of this "steps to success" Giannis bullshit. If it were to happen, it's a failure and a big one at that.

When you underachieve as the Celtics have done through 3 games, of course the hot takes follow. Fire Joe, trade Player X,Y, Z, the players can't play winning basketball because they miss Ime Udoka, it's all to be expected. You don't hear it when you win and it's all you hear when you lose. Welcome to sports.

So this morning when I came across this tweet, I simply couldn't help myself

This is certainly not the first time we've heard Perk with this take. It happened when the Celts were .500 last year, and he certainly wasn't the only one who said it. You couldn't go a day without hearing about how the Celts had to break up Tatum and Brown. When they turned it around, Perk suddenly changed his tune. Now it was more about how this was the best duo in the NBA, how he was wrong for wanting to split them up etc. Just a few months ago we heard him declare how Jaylen had surpassed Tatum etc.

Now, we're back to this. Break up Tatum and Brown and trade Jaylen for a 33 year old Damian Lillard.

I should have just let it go. I mean this is part of Perk's role. He's the one on TV, not me, so it should be expected to some degree.

Sadly, I couldn't.

Before we go any further. Just think critically about what he is suggesting. Damian Lillard is a hell of a player. A Top 75 team guy. But trading your 26 year old franchise pillar for a 33 year old with this contract

makes absolutely zero sense. Keep in mind, if Jaylen signs a supermax, he cannot be traded for one year. If he signs a lesser extension, you still have to use his 2023-24 salary in a trade this summer, which is only $28M. As you can see, Dame makes $45M. That means, Perk wants the Celtics to not only trade Jaylen, but also another key rotation piece (Smart/White/Brogdon/etc) for an aging 33 year old who is a worse defender and someone who makes more money?

I get it, Dame is a big name, but how does that in any way fix the problems that we are seeing right now in these ECF?

As it turned out, Perk didn't appreciate being questioned on that topic, and off we were

For starters, I most certainly do not consider myself "the voice of the Celtics". I'm a normal ass fan like anyone else, I just have the extreme privilege of writing for the best website on the internet that has the best fans in the world. It made me extremely uncomfortable when the powers at be told me there would be a giant green tab at the top of this website with my name on it, so I most certainly do not consider myself the "voice" or "face" of anything. That would be insane. I am no different than any Celtics fan reading this blog outside of the fact that I can log into the backend of this site.

So, because Perk asked me to enlighten him, I simply asked him the same question I would ask anyone. What problems does this trade solve?

Let me just say, it's very weird for me to be having some sort of weird Twitter beef/back and forth with Perk. I mean, he was a part of the only title my eyes have ever seen. Everyone involved in that 2008 team is goated as far as I'm concerned, so internally this was very weird to process in real time. I guess that's the beauty of Twitter in 2023 though. 

As you can imagine, Perk never did give me an answer to that question

I was a little confused as to why asking Perk to explain what that trade solves is somehow me acting like I'm the only one who can speak on the Celts or that everything I say is the Gospel, but I get it. The beauty of sports is everyone is entitled to their opinion. Often times, I get tweeted things that I disagree with, and I try and explain why. If that's me acting like what I say is the Gospel…OK? Simply bringing up reasons as to why trading for Dame would be a bad idea feels more like a level headed informed discussion, but fine.

As with anyone who gives opinions on sports, sometimes you're wrong. I'm wrong all the time. That's part of the gig. But what I try to be is consistent and not just change my tune to whichever way the wind happens to be blowing that day. Even still, Perk was unable to give me an answer

This is where Perk and I agree. It IS about winning championships. ECF and Finals appearances are nice, but it doesn't mean dick if you don't finish the job. But that point is why I can't understand the logic behind giving up Jaylen AND pieces for a 33 year old Dame. What championship experience does he have? This isn't a knock on him as a player, but how does that support the idea that bringing in Dame wins the Celtics a title? 

To me, there is only 1 reason you trade Jaylen Brown. If he turns down any sort of extension, whether it be the supermax or something else. At that point he has made it clear to you that he wants to move on, so you need to get ahead of it. The Celtics do not have the ability to replace Jaylen if he leaves, so you cannot let that asset out the door for nothing. But if he is willing to sign an extension or a supermax, you do not trade him for an aging 33 year old player. I feel like that should be something everyone universally agrees on, despite how he's looked in these ECF. Remember, Jaylen was the best Celtic in the NBA Finals just last June.

As to what I would do should the Celts lose tonight, my list is pretty simple

- Fill out Joe's staff with experienced assistants

- Find an Al Horford replacement for once he's done

- See what sign & trades there might be for Grant if he's not part of your future

- If you need big money salary to pull something off, sell high on Brogdon's season seeing as how he's 32 and an expiring deal next season ($22M)

What you should not do is break up your two best players before they even enter their prime years. This is not to say the Jays are "too young", because they have proper NBA experience. This is not their first rodeo. This is saying you do not trade either guy before we see the ages where essentially ALL players reach their peak. The whole point of committing to that duo is not to bail on it right before that happens. If you get to those years and their primes still aren't good enough, that's an entirely different discussion.

In the end, this is the type of stuff that happens when a team is down 0-3. Talking heads spew hot takes to get interaction, triggered bloggers like myself take the bait and here we are. If only the Celts could have ya know, not played like complete dickheads in this ECF, all of this could have been avoided. But as they say, all it takes is one