2011 NBA Playoffs: Boston's Trades, Moves and Playoff Outlook

The trade deadline has come and gone, but not without the Boston Celtics making any moves.

The Celtics came to terms with the Oklahoma City Thunder on a trade that sent center Kendrick Perkins and point guard Nate Robinson to the Thunder in exchange for small forward Jeff Green, center Nenad Krstic and they will also receive a 2012 first-round pick from the Thunder that was initially acquired from the Clippers, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.

The pick is Top-10 protected, and will be the lower pick from either the Clippers or the Minnesota Timberwolves in that draft. The Clippers initially acquired the pick in a 2005 trade for Sam Cassell. The Thunder acquired the pick from the Clippers last year in exchange for the No. 18 pick in the 2010 draft.
There is no question that this move has taken many fans of both teams by surprise.

Perkins has been touted as the biggest piece of this deal, filling a void the Thunder always have had down in the post. Kendrick Perkins is a great defensive presence down low and his shot-blocking ability, combined with his toughness, will indeed be missed by the Boston Celtics.

In more recent news, the Oklahoma City Thunder signed Kendrick Perkins to a multi-year contract extension Tuesday. According to ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher, Perkin's agent Bob Myers said that Perkins will receive $36 million fully guaranteed over the course of the four-year contract.

Considering Perkin's past and current injuries and the chance that he could continue to be injury prone in the future, some feel that it was too early to sign Perkins to a four year extension, especially for approximately 9 million dollars per year. Among those critics you won't find Thunder general manager Sam Presti.

"We had a unique opportunity to enter into discussions with Kendrick to solidify his future with our organization," general manager Sam Presti stated. "We are pleased to know that he will be a part of our core group now and in the future. Kendrick's blue-collar, team-first approach aligns with the vision we hold for building a sustainable team in the Oklahoma City community."

On the flip side, Jeff Green, although not considered by many as the most important player moved in this deal cannot be overlooked. He was drafted fifth overall in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Celtics and has a tremendous upside. He is the best player in this deal due to his current ability and future prospect. Krstic of Yugoslavia, also a former first round pick was taken 24th overall in the 2002 NBA Draft.

In other dealings, the Boston Celtics also traded Semih Erden and Luke Harangody to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 2013 second round pick, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnaroski.This trade opened up two roster spots for the Celtics—who are speculated to have a few more tricks up their sleeve that won't be revealed until the near future. In other news, the Celtics have sent Marquis Daniels to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for the Kings 2017 second-round pick.

In one day, Boston saw four of its bench players traded and one starter moved, freeing up three roster spots for the Celtics to pursue current free agents and players who will become free agents due to their contracts being bought out. One of those players is Troy Murphy.

Troy Murphy joined the Celtics after spending much of Monday and Tuesday agonizing between Boston and the Miami Heat. The Portland Trail Blazers had also expressed interest in Murphy. If you are a Celtics fan then you are pretty excited right about now and may very well be starting to think that maybe Danny Ainge has known what he is doing all along. If the team can get and stay healthy, then we could see a Celtics/Lakers rematch of 2010 NBA Championship in the 2011 NBA Championship.

Must Read: Eighteen Reasons the Celtics will Win the 2011 NBA Championship