"I hate to lose a teammate like [Kendrick] Perkins," Pierce said. "He meant so much. People don't understand chemistry is from the bus to the plane to the locker room, so it's definitely a blow. It depends on how the other guys make the adjustment."
--Paul Pierce, veteran Boston Celtic great.
The Boston Celtics were held scoreless over the final six-plus minutes Thursday night by the Denver Nuggets who closed the game with a 16-0 run for an 89-75 win.
The Celtics suited up just nine players and had to fight through the emotions of losing Perkins, who was dealt to Oklahoma City for forward Jeff Green in the biggest of Boston's trio of trades Thursday.
"Tough day to play basketball," Kevin Garnett said. "Very tough day to play basketball, to even concentrate. Just being bluntly honest. You feel like you lost a family member today. Tough day."
"It was very emotional, especially for me being that I had a chance to see Perkins grow up from day one, fresh out of high school, coming in here and seeing the level he got to, a championship team," said Pierce. "It's definitely emotional. I had a chance to talk to him this afternoon a little bit, he was definitely hurt. The guys around this locker room were definitely hurt to see Perk go."
Pierce also said this is an example of how the business of basketball and ruthlessness of the NBA cuts both ways.
"It's the nature of the business," he said. "People thought LeBron James was cold for leaving Cleveland the way it is. This is an example of how it happens on the management end. You can't get mad at the players because it can happen to them unexpectedly, just like a player can go where he wants. It's just the nature of the beast."
The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics also mysteriously dealt reserve Nate Robinson to the Thunder and received Nenad Krstic, a future first-round draft pick and cash in the Perkins deal.
Earlier in the day, the Celtics acquired draft picks by sending forward Luke Harangody and rookie center Semih Erden to Cleveland and injured swingman Marquis Daniels to Sacramento.
Why would the Celtics do that to a team that was known for chemistry and had performed so well for the past four years, including one NBA championship? Was it about money? Or was it about making a serious run for the championship. Time will tell.
Excerpts from ESPN.com (February 24, 2011)
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