Kendrick Perkins Talks to B/R About Being Traded from Boston Celtics to Thunder

Kendrick Perkins loved the time he spent in Boston with the Celtics.

He never wanted to leave.

Addressing the media following Rajon Rondo's charity basketball game at Harvard, Perkins was asked about how it felt to be back in Boston playing basketball.

"I missed the whole city of Boston, the whole of New England," Perkins said, "and it just felt good playing basketball here. It’s always overwhelming."

His comments didn't stop there. Perkins slouched a little lower in his chair before continuing with how he felt to be back on the court with some of his former teammates.

"I hated to leave," he continued. "God does everything for a reason, but my heart is still in Boston and New England. It was just fun to be back."

It's not often that a player admits his heart is still in the city where his previous team plays, but Perkins never sought to be dealt from the Celtics.

In fact, Perkins admitted that his trade to Oklahoma City still doesn't seem real.

"It still hurts that I got traded, but then the city of Oklahoma has been great to me," said Perkins. "They’ve embraced me with open arms, and I have no complaints about the city of Oklahoma and the whole organization."

Just after Perkins was dealt from the Celtics to the Thunder, he signed a four-year extension worth $34 million, a far cry from the $21.5 million deal Boston was offering over the same length of time.

Perkins took the court to a roaring ovation from the crowd, and outside of Rondo, there's no question that the former Celtic got the most love from a crowd that was anxious to cheer him on.

When the Celtics dealt away Perkins for Jeff Green, it was one of the most maligned trades in recent history.

Fans of both teams were stunned and didn't know how to react to the deal, and the Celtics had a particularly tough time dealing with the news that the fan favorite had just been shipped out the door.

Perkins was limited in his first season with the Thunder after returning from his ACL tear, but he showed up at Harvard in phenomenal shape.

"I just been rehabbing a lot, taking a lot of pressure off my knees, and going from there," Perkins said. "I was just happy about playing basketball."

He was modest in his response, but there's no question that Perkins has spent serious time in the gym this summer.

Appearing approximately 20 pounds lighter, the big man looked strong and revitalized, and there's no doubt he was playing at a much higher level than he showed at any point last season.

Playfully serving as the point guard at times, Perkins took the same type of intensity into the charity exhibition that he would into a regular season game, and he had no trouble rising up to the rim for one ferocious dunk after another.

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When Rondo called me and told me this was all going down, I told him I'd be the first one. I was nervous at first stepping back out there, but it’s not going to be my last time coming to Boston. I was just happy to be playing in front of the fans.

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There's no question that the fans in the stands echoed the same sentiment.