According To Kendrick Perkins, The Sixers Winning The Title Would Be Stain On The Boston Celtics Forever

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Given that we are right smack in the middle of the dead period of the NBA calendar, there's not a whole lot to talk about for the major networks and talking head shows. Unfortunately, that means my timeline is still going to be filled with Jaylen Brown Trade takes. Mind you, things are already painful enough when shit like this comes across my screen

(I still can't believe that's not A.I)

Giphy Images.

Giphy Images.

Giphy Images.

and frankly as someone who is trying their best to turn the page and look forward, I desperately need actual basketball to start up again so we can move on to other topics. I don't even need regular season basketball either; preseason will work just fine. Obviously this is going to be a topic all year so I suppose we should get used to it, but it's been a month since the trade and yet here we are.

Our most recent topic comes from Perk, who had quite the take when talking about what it would mean should the Sixers not choke and actually win the title

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Now here's the thing. Part of what he says there is true. Brad Stevens and the Celtics are mostly responsible if not solely responsible for what the Sixers roster now looks like. I can't push back on that, considering I said the same thing

At this point, it's been widely reported that the Jaylen Brown trade was what landed LeBron

so I'm not even sure how that could be debated. If Jaylen was traded so say, the Bucks, then I do not think LeBron James is currently a Sixer.

But where Perk starts to lose me is the fact that a Sixers title would be a stain on the Celtics forever. To me, that feels like a little much. For starters, what if they don't win a title? Is that a stain on the Sixers forever and the Celtics are suddenly geniuses? What if the Sixers win the title, but that Clippers pick ends up being #1 and lands an elite player who helps the Celtics win more titles, is there still a stain? What if the Celtics win one first, and then the Sixers win a title, is there still a stain? 

I also think it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that Brad Stevens had to evaluate Jaylen Brown trades based on what LeBron may or may not have decided to do. That's insane. It was clear after canvassing the market that there weren't too many great options for Jaylen given his contract and pending $70M a year extension. Even if you think the return package sucks ass, the reality is that suck-ass package was the best they could land while also not unloading all of their young talent (ex: Giannis trade package). There was no way to know where LeBron was going, so to me that's not where Brad may have fucked up.

Where I think it's fair to say he fucked up is the timing of this all. There was no rush to do it on July 1st, and once it came out that the Sixers were an option, that could have been an opportunity to squeeze them for a little more. Maybe you could convince them to throw in VJ Edgecombe, maybe an additional pick or something. Suddenly, the leverage shifts back in Brad's favor a little bit because he can say 

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"You want LeBron, you know you need Jaylen to land LeBron, so pay up"

Instead, he traded him early and had to settle for what was definitely not the best offer the Sixers could have made. 

But back to Perk's overall comment about how a Sixers title would be a stain on the Celtics for the rest of time. Would it be annoying? Sure. But the fact of the matter is their hands were tied given the new CBA and Jaylen being a 35% cap hit. With reports that he was being shopped as early as February, the writing was clearly on the wall. He was getting traded. At that point, it's about getting the best possible return. The longer they held onto Jaylen, their leverage goes down and the worse the trade offers get, which in turn then impacts the Celtics' future in a negative way. 

Let's also not forget that not a single second of basketball has been played yet. What if the Celts are better than the Sixers this year? What if they prove to be better than they were last year, especially against good teams (3-13 last year)? The reality is, both of those things are entirely possible. Also, when Rondo won a title with the Lakers, was that a stain on the Celtics because they traded him as the direction of their team changed and he eventually made his way to that 2020 Lakers team? I don't think so, because technically it would have never happened had Rondo been a Celtic for life and not first been shipped to the Mavs and then bounced around the league. 

I get that this is Perks' schtick, I get that ever since he got denied for the 2024 parade his commentary on the Celts has been a certain way, but sadly I'm going to have to disagree with him here.