NBA Trade Deadline: Top 10 deadline trades of all time

By Daniel Tran | Feb 17, 2015

Oct 10, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons player development coach Rasheed Wallace (middle) shakes hands with Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (left) after the game at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Heat beat the Pistons 112-107. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jan 20, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) during the second half against Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Thunder won 94-86. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Boston pulls a classic, “What the hell are you doing?” trade with Kendrick Perkins

It is said in business transactions, there is always a winner and always a loser. Very rarely will you find an NBA trade that will work out equally for both parties. That is especially true with a trade that the Boston Celtics completed at the height of their Eastern Conference powers in the current millennium.

When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce to form the new Boston Big Three in 2007, there was no doubt that the team would go to do great things. Their destiny was fulfilled with a championship that season, but more than that was the emergence of Kendrick Perkins and the discovery of the importance of his game.

In his fourth year in the NBA, Perkins found a mentor in Kevin Garnett who showed him the proper on-court intensity and grit that he needed to succeed in the league. Perkins became Boston’s nasty enforcer in the paint who fought for every rebound and every inch of position on the court. When he went down with an ACL injury during the NBA Finals two years later, the Celtics lost in seven games to the Los Angeles Lakers. Many believed if he were in the game, Boston would have won their second championship in three years.

In 2010-11, Perkins was returned off the ACL injury averaging 7.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in 12 games. Apparently, that production was not enough for the Celtic front office, who were looking towards the future with their Big Three aging rather quickly.

In a move that shocked everyone at the NBA trade deadline, Perkins was moved with Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Though he was dismayed by being traded, he provided the Thunder with the inside presence they always needed.

With him defending the paint, the Thunder made the Western Conference Finals in 2011 and then the NBA Finals in 2012. Boston, on the other hand, never made it past the Eastern Conference Finals again and Jeff Green suffered from an aortic aneurysm that kept him out of the 2011-12 season. Everyone loses sometimes, Boston.

Next: The Pacers double back on Jackson

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