Friday Bolts – Perk Edition

I will go ahead and say what we’re all thinking: Please, for the love of Tyson Chandler, don’t let Kendrick Perkins fail his physical. I really can’t deal with another rescinded trade. Really, I can’t. On to a massive collection of links. Hope you don’t plan on doing any work today.

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “For the Thunder, GM Sam Presti did it again. He found something you can almost never find — a near 7-footer in his prime on a reasonable contract, with the payroll flexibility to sign him long-term whatever the new rules wind up being. But Presti did more than that. His long-term plan of building with youth, draft picks and cap space has suddenly collided with the potential for a substantial short-term reward. Even with an undersized lineup against the biggest frontcourt in the league, the Thunder put a scare into the Lakers in the first round last spring. Imagine if they had a rugged, athletic, legitimate center — one who has banged bodies with the Lakers in a championship series before.”

John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “For three and a half years, Sam Presti stayed patient. He waited and built and reminded everybody else to be patient, not rush, and see how these kids developed before splurging on the veteran pieces they’d eventually need around them. That moment was someday in the future, he’d remind all the impatient folks. Well, today was that day. The Thunder’s trades for Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed basically put the finishing touches on a rebuilding project that began in Seattle in June of 2007, adding the low-post defense and interior toughness that was the final hurdle to their rivaling the big boys in the West. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve arrived as contenders — the Thunder are still very young across the board. But it does mean that they’ve established their core group going forward. Whatever this team does over the next few seasons, it’s going to be with the same top nine players who are there right now, more or less.”

Hollinger also graded the trade a “B” for the Thunder. He also gave OKC a “B” for the Mohammed deal: “I wrote more here about the Thunder’s trades, and this deal was just a  small part of their big day, but getting Mohammed was a solid move for  their playoff run. They’ll have Mohammed’s Bird Rights and a role for  him if he wants to stick around, and White was buried on the depth chart  behind the likes of Ibaka and Nick Collison. In an underrated note, this  deal also shaved $2 million on the Thunder’s 2011 cap number, so if  they can’t keep Perkins it opens up some more options.”

Kevin Arnovitz: “I’m not going to crown the Thunder because they acquired a word-class screner and system-based defender with no range.”

Matt Moore of CBSSports.com: “But for Boston to give up Perkins, a centerpiece of their championship and Eastern Conference championship teams, for those two is going to cause a lot of questions in Boston. The biggest issue on the table is the status of Perkins’ knee. He limped off the court against the Warriors Tuesday night, and has continued to have issues since coming back. You have to wonder how his physical will shake out. Robinson provides a great backup point option to pair with the Thunder, who may now have the deepest team in the league. Of course, it’s Nate Robinson, which comes with its own problems, but if he struggles as he has in Boston this year, they also have Eric Maynor.”

Doc Rivers: “I talked to Scottie for a long time today and I mean that’s the biggest thing he’s worried about, I mean, he’s losing two high-character guys out of his locker room. I told him with Perk maybe you’re getting the best one in the league. My entire years in Boston I’ve been with Perk and he’s been with me, so personally, that’s tough.”

Henry Abbott: “My first thought was: Wow, the Thunder are gearing up to be Laker-killers, and they’ll be one team that won’t cede the paint to Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison, Serge Ibaka and Nazr Mohammed will all make their presences felt in the playoffs. (And if somehow they all foul out, after the referee investigation, they can insert Cole Aldrich, too.) This on a team that has a 6-foot-10 small forward and a great perimeter defender in Thabo Sefolosha, who can put a body on Kobe Bryant.”

Jenni Carlson and Berry Tramel discuss the trade. I don’t really see how this trade is a “roll of the dice” though.

Zach Lowe of SI: “As for the Thunder, this is a brilliant move. They took two guys whom they clearly were not going to bring back next season and flipped them for the tough-minded, defensive center they have longed for since their trade for Tyson Chandler fell through. This team has regressed badly on defense, and it was not going to be a serious playoff contender unless it addressed that end of the floor. It has done so today, and without mucking up its salary cap picture at all. If Perkins does’t work out, Sam Presti shrugs his shoulders and lets him walk, all with the knowledge that he didn’t give up much of value to take a chance on a center with a ring. Presti needs money to re-sign Russell Westbrook, Serge Ibaka and James Harden in the next few years, and that’s money he wasn’t going to spend on Green and won’t have to spend on Perkins if he doesn’t like what he sees.”

Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston: “The addition of Green is a very intriguing move, especially with eyes toward a Boston bench that has struggled with offensive consistency for much of the past two seasons. Boston gets the much-needed backup that will allow them to ease up on minutes for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce moving forward, while also developing a player that can slide into the starting lineup when Allen’s time in Boston is over.”

Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “Once Perkins gets over the emotion of leaving Boston, he should quickly warm to playing with Durant and Westbrook. A source close to the center also thinks he’ll like being closer to his hometown in Beaumont, Texas. Parting with Jeff Green wasn’t easy, but if the Thunder were going to invest significant money in another core player in addition to Durant and Westbrook, it needed to be someone who could provide more of an interior presence. Nate Robinson also could provide some scoring off the bench. And if the Thunder keep both Westbrook and Perkins? They could continue to grow into the West’s most dangerous team as Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki get older.”

Kelly Dwyer of BDL: “This is another in a long line of heady moves for Oklahoma City GM Sam Presti. The team didn’t give up any draft picks, it didn’t affect its salary outlook (it’ll be under the cap this offseason, the amount depending on what it does with Perkins) in any meaningful way, and nobody is going to want to touch these guys come May. Careful planning leads to the ability to take advantage of great timing. Sam Presti’s team is certainly an example of that.”

Tom Ziller of SB Nation: “Despite his stature — he’s listed at 6-10, but might not be that — Perkins typically finishes in the top 10 in the league in block percentage, and he’s learned to limit his fouls. His man defense is a huge upgrade over Krstic, and will allow Nick Collison — a fine defender in his own right — to split power forward minutes with Serge Ibaka. The Thunder also managed to trade for Nazr Mohammed; he will play behind Perkins, leaving only minimal drop-off defensively. Oklahoma City runs its offense through Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and they do a wonderful job. Addressing the team’s defense was a priority, and Thursday’s trades got the job done.”

Scott Carefoot of TBJ: “The trade is a landscape changer in both conferences because a healthy Perkins gives the Thunder a defensive backbone to complement the scoring prowess of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Perkins also gives them an answer for Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Tim Duncan and Tyson Chandler in the Western Conference playoffs. His acquisition has to be viewed as a stunning success for Thunder GM Sam Presti.”

Kendrick Perkins was crying when he was told he was dealt: “He’s taking it pretty hard because he’s been here eight years,” Robinson just said while checking out of the team hotel in Denver. “He was very emotional, crying. He has to move his family, and he’s been really tight with Rondo and other guys on the team. I feel his pain. It was tough when I left New York because of all the guys I’d been around. With Perk, everyone thinks he’s mean because of how he looks, but he’s a soft giant with a big heart,” he said. “I told him he’s not alone. We’re going together. I told him you won’t be by yourself. You’ll have me by your side. We’ll make it work together.”

For CBSSports.com, I had OKC as a big winner for yesterday.

Five thoughts from Darnell Mayberry: “I love both deals. In one trade, the Thunder essentially packaged its out of position power forward (who is probably better suited as a sixth man) and its token starting center for a proven championship caliber center who can anchor its defense. In the other deal, OKC dealt spare parts for additional size, shot-blocking, experience and frontcourt depth. And the Thunder did it all without blowing up its budget in the short or long term. That about sums up the day. Yeah, the Thunder came out a huge winner.”

Berry Tramel: “The primary message from the trades for Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed is this: the Thunder had to get better defensively on the interior to make any kind of playoff run. But the underlying message is this: the Thunder is showing its belief in Serge Ibaka and James Harden.”

Kurt Helin of PBT grades the trade: “This was a brilliant trade. Sure, a bit of a risk because Perkins is coming off an injury and could be a free agent, but the Thunder addressed their biggest need — a defensive presence in the paint — with one of the best in the game at it. They just got a whole lot better and the West playoffs just got a lot more interesting. Grade: A”