Kendrick Perkins Not Happy With Celtics’ Reported Grant Williams Trade
The Celtics made another key change Wednesday, and a 2008 NBA champion is not happy about the new look of the team.
Boston reportedly traded Grant Williams to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for multiple second-round picks as part of a three-team deal that involved the San Antonio Spurs.
The trade was a shock to Williams and star Jayson Tatum, but the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis made Boston’s frontcourt crowded enough to squeeze out Williams, who reportedly signed an extension that pays him over $13 million a year.
(The Celtics reportedly were not willing to go over $12 million a year for Williams despite president of basketball operations Brad Stevens telling reporters he had the “green light” in spending.)
The reported loss of Williams is compounded by the loss of Marcus Smart, who was dealt as part of the Porzingis trade, and ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins wasn’t a fan.
“Damn sure not feeling good after this,” Perkins said on “NBA Today” on Thursday. “Here’s the thing, you need dogs in order to win a championship. The Celtics this past offseason just got rid of two pit bulls that they had in the locker room in Marcus Smart and Grant Williams. You can’t replace that. I don’t care about guys that play hard. That’s another thing. If you play hard and have tenacity, the noise talking, the get in your face, not being afraid to ruffle feathers — you can’t replace that. There’s no team in the history of sports that hasn’t had dogs in their roster in order for them to compete to win a championship.
“I don’t know if the Celtics have something coming down the pipeline or if Brad Stevens and Austin Ainge is working in that front office. But right now, I am not happy again for the second or third week in a row. I’m not happy with the moves and what’s happening down in Beantown.”
Williams and Smart played key roles in the 2022 NBA Finals run and last season’s conference finals run, but the Celtics fell short, and Stevens chose to take a calculated risk to change up the roster for on-court upgrades.
It’s too soon to determine how the off-the-court impacts will affect the Celtics, but fans likely will fall on Perkins’ side of the debate.
The counter would be that very few expected Aaron Gordon, Bruce Brown and Christian Braun to be key players or “dogs” in the Denver Nuggets’ championship run against a team that arguably is filled with “dogs” in the Miami Heat led by Jimmy Butler.
But the emotional argument is an easy one to make in July. Oshae Brissett is the only major signing the Celtics made, as of Friday. But Boston does have the assets to possibly make a bigger move if one presents itself.
Stevens’ aggressive moves this offseason could determine his legacy as an executive depending on if the Celtics win the title next season.
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