From Beantown to Bricktown

Originally Published: Feb 25, 2011 10:8 AM CDTIn a stunning blockbuster trade <a target="&quot;_self&quot;" title="&quot;OKC&quot;"

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 1:34 pm

By: News 9

Originally Published: Feb 25, 2011 10:8 AM CDT

In a stunning blockbuster trade <a target=""_self"" title=""OKC"" href=""Team.aspx?id=3456"">OKC</a>trades four and gets three. With all due respect to others in the deal,this move is all about two players: OKC gives up power forward Jeff Green and gets a much needed big man in Kendrick Perkins. Perkinswas at the top of our radio show conversation. If OKC could find a bigman who might make them a legit threat in the West this year, it mightjust be him. Bingo. Home run Sam Presti. Touch em’ all. I haveonly one question: will these moves disrupt what appears to have beenterrific team chemistry. I trust the young GM on this. And justfollowing temperaments from a distance, all these new guys pass the eyetest. As I am wont to say, chemistry is the most overlookedand underrated part of team sports. And Green (and the others involvedin the trade) fit in perfectly with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the guys. Ifthis deal pans out the way it looks like it might, not only will OKCmove up, the whiz “kid” GM will continue his zenith trajectory. I’m not a message board guy. Been bloodied once too often. But my technology advanced co-worker Kelly Oglecan wear out a computer. Finds more stuff in thirty seconds than I doin thirty minutes. Makes the Facebook dud look clumsy. He’s monitoringmessage boards and tells me fans in LA are none too happy and areconcerned that Perkins will make the Thunder a tough out. Thefirst picture that flashed in my mind when I learned that Green washeaded to Boston and Perkins to OKC was this: Green inexplicablyair-balling a 26 footer Wednesday night in a winnable loss at SanAntonio. The second picture was the put-back by Pao Gasolto win Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs last season in OKC.Perkins’ measurables may not wow NFL teams at the combine, but you canbet that his big, bad, boisterous booty would have boxed out Gasol andthe Thunder would have advanced to Game 7. Dan Shaughnessy ofthe Boston Globe is second to only the great Bob Ryan when it comes tothe Celtics. He was on Rome today. Paraphrasing, he said that theCeltics could’ve won the championship but not without Perkins. He askswhat team would trade its starting center six weeks before theplayoffs. He is high on Perkins calling him a great compliment toBoston’s four All-Stars; a great body banger. Shaughnessy was adamantthat it was bad for the Celtics, in large part because in the NBA, it’sabout “winning now.” He and Rome conclude Boston GM Danny Ainge knowssomething the rest of us don’t. Let’s hope not. So in my opinion there were two steps taken today. Boston taking on back. OKC taking one giant leap for mankind. Follow Dean on Twitter: @DeanBlevins