Tag Archives: Kendrick Perkins

Lakers Defense Holds Off Thunder

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Pau Gasol had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Kobe Bryant scored 17 points and the Los Angeles Lakers extended their cushion over Oklahoma City in the Western Conference standings by beating the Thunder 90-87 on Sunday.

Andrew Bynum added 16 points and 10 rebounds, but the Lakers weren’t able to simply overpower a Thunder team that added Kendrick Perkins for interior toughness but won’t get him in the lineup for a couple weeks.Lamar Odom missed a pair of free throws with 10.9 seconds left to leave the door open for Oklahoma City, but Kevin Durant and James Harden each missed 3-pointers from the top of the key in the closing moments.

Russell Westbrook led Oklahoma City with 22 points and Durant scored 21. The Thunder were held to a season-low 31 second-half points in suffering their first three-game losing streak of the season.

 

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NBA Trade Deadline Sees Flurry of Deals

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PLANET LOVETRON, NBA UNIVERSE — Woe to those NBA fans who own an authentic or replica jersey or T-shirt of one of the following players:

Gerald Wallace, Dante Cunningham, Joel Przybilla, Aaron Brooks, Goran Dragic, Nazr Mohammed, D.J. White, Morris Peterson, Shane Battier, Hasheem Thabeet, Semih Erden, Luke Harangody, Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson, Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, Baron Davis, Marquis Daniels, Jamario Moon and Mo Williams.

Those men, including draft picks and canvas sacks of cash were traded in copious amounts at one of the most active NBA trade deadlines in memory. Fans, meanwhile, will need to find cash to buy new merchandise or risk being ridiculed for being ironic in wearing an out-of-date jersey.

One day after the Utah Jazz and New Jersey Nets left jaws agape when the Jazz sent All-Star point guard Deron Williams to the Nets for point guard Devin Harris, rookie forward Derrick Favors, two first round picks and dough, the Celtics stunned many when they sent starting center Perkins and bench energizer Robinson to Oklahoma City for forward Green and center Kristic.

 

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Rasheed Wallace to Return? Agent Disputes Stephen A. Smith

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This wasn’t quite the same as Stephen A. Smith predicting the ultimate destination of LeBron James, but it did cause a mini-stir nonetheless.

The media personality told host Kevin Frazier on the Dan Patrick show that Rasheed Wallace would come out of retirement to join his old Boston Celtics teammates just in time for another deep playoff run.

“I’m here to tell you that Rasheed Wallace will come out of retirement once the (Feb. 24) trading deadlines expires in all likelihood, because he wants another shot at the Lakers,” Smith said.

 

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Timberwolves GM David Kahn Explains His Faith in Darko Milicic

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Darko MilicicFinally, a verdict on the sucker punches and the question of whether or not David Kahn ever feels them in that oft-criticized gut of his.

Yes, Internet world, the Minnesota general manager hears you. And reads you. And watches you. He knows there’s a “Kick Me” sign on his back, that some of his decisions over these last 18 months have bewildered the armchair GMs (and plenty of real ones, too), and that there’s enough skepticism surrounding him to fill all those empty seats at the Target Center.

And he certainly knows what he did in bringing Darko Milicic into his blogger’s playground, joining forces with one of the most infamous players in the history of the NBA and taking his easy-target status to a whole new level.

Whether he cares, however, is another question entirely. You are, he made clear while quoting Pat Riley, nothing more than “peripheral opponents” as he sees it.

“Sometimes people send things (from the Internet) to me, so I’m exposed to it in that way,” Kahn said when asked if he peruses the Web for his own approval ratings. “A couple days ago, after seven games, there were NBA power rankings (on a web site) and the early returns on free agent signings, including one signing we made of a guy for four years (Milicic) and (they’re declaring) ‘This will never work.’ It’s seven games out of a potential 368 games. Come on.

“A friend sent (the story) to me empathetically, like (saying), ‘Tell this (expletive) to shove it up his (expletive) ass, because it’s absurd.”

 

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Team USA Notebook: Rondo Welcomes Shaq, D’Antoni Defends Walsh

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Shaquille O'NealNEW YORK — Rajon Rondo likes having a new big guy in town.

Then again, it’s not as if Boston brass consulted him.

“I don’t have any choice,” Rondo said in an interview with FanHouse about the Celtics‘ recent signing of free agent Shaquille O’Neal, 38.

Rondo, though, had good things to say about this hardly green center joining Gang Green.

“I like it,” the Boston point guard said after his Team USA practiced Tuesday at John Jay College in preparation for the World Championship later this month in Turkey. “He’s another enforcer. So we’re happy to have him. … He rebounds, shoots a high percentage from the field and can finish at the rim.”

Asked whether O’Neal could cause chemistry problems due to the Celtics already having many leaders and whether O’Neal could be happy coming off the bench, Rondo sidestepped those questions.

Rondo stressed he didn’t think it was proper to say the move was made to help counteract East rival Miami having assembled a superteam of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

 

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Report: Shaq ‘Close’ to Joining Celtics

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Shaquille O'NealBig Shamrock? Green Monster? Green Giant? How ’bout them Shaqqles? Get yourself some Excedrin, kids. The puns are about to get out of control: Reports indicate that center Shaquille O’Neal is shipping up to Boston to join the Celtics.

Comcast SportsNet New England’s A. Sherrod Blakely reports that Shaq is “close” to signing with the Boston Celtics. That report has also been confirmed by CBSSports.com’s Ken Berger.

FanHouse was the first to report O’Neal interest in joining the Celtics last month.

Adding the future Hall of Fame center raises the Celtics’ frontcourt to a higher level than last year, even after the retirement of Rasheed Wallace, especially considering the addition of Jermaine O’Neal. Even with Kendrick Perkins on the shelf until at least December, the C’s boast a lineup of big, tough defenders that have the same veteran mindset as the rest of their Eastern Conference champion roster.



 

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Danny Ainge Still Believes Celtics Are Tops in East

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ORLANDO, Fla. — So what if Miami might be assembling a superteam with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Danny Ainge uttered what would have to be considered NBA executive trash talking.

“Absolutely,” said the Boston general manager on Thursday at the Air Train Orlando Pro Summer League about the Celtics still being at the top of the heap in the East, and that it won’t change even if James does announce later in the day he’s leaving Cleveland for the Heat. “We’re the Eastern Conference champions, and I think we’re going to be better.”

Ainge evidently believes getting big man Jermaine O’Neal is an upgrade over Rasheed Wallace, who is all but certain to retire. Ainge confirmed the Celtics will sign O’Neal, who will get $11.5 million over two years using Boston’s full mid-level exception.

“We intend to sign him, and I’ll talk about him when we do,” Ainge said.

 

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Semih Erden to Join the Celtics

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Semih ErdenKnowing size would be an issue going forward, given the late postseason injury to Kendrick Perkins and the retirement of Rasheed Wallace, the Celtics have been targeting big men, including veteran Brad Miller, in free agency. But the team was also able to look to younger, less experienced corners for frontcourt support. And the Celtics found such an option in Semih Erden, a 23-year-old, 7-foot-tall Turkish center who was Boston’s 60th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald reports Erden will join the Celtics on a one-year contract worth just less than $500,000. He will be a part of Boston’s summer league team later this month.

Erden has played for Turkish league powerhouse Fenerbahce since 2005. He’s never averaged so much as 20 minutes a game, and last season averaged just 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He played only minor minutes for the Turkish national team in the 2006 FIBA World Championships and the 2007 and 2009 Eurobasket tournaments. Turkey will host the 2010 FIBA World Championships beginning in August. Erden will be joined by fellow NBA players Hedo Turkoglu and Ersan Ilyasova on the Turkish team. Fellow center Mehmet Okur isn’t expected to be available due to injury.

The Celtics now have Erden, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Perkins and Glen Davis under contract for 2010-11. The team is expected to sign 2010 draft picks Avery Bradley and Luke Harangody to contracts, as well, leaving at least four roster spots up for grabs as free agency continues.

 

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Brad Miller a Big Man on Teams’ Radars

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Brad MillerFour top teams searching for a center are among those pursuing a two-time All-Star

OK, so the best days are behind Brad Miller, 34. But Miller’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, still said about a dozen teams have called about his client.

The four most interesting ones look to be Boston, Denver, Cleveland and Houston. The Celtics really need help inside due to starting center Kendrick Perkins having suffered a serious knee injury in Game 6 of last month’s NBA Finals and backup Rasheed Wallace on the verge of retiring.

“If Kendrick Perkins is out and Rasheed Wallace retires, they’re going to need someone,” said Bartelstein, whose client averaged 8.8 points last season for Chicago.

 

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Source: Boston Offering Kendrick Perkins and Pick in Draft Talks

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By the time Doc Rivers announces whether he’ll return as Boston’s head coach, a member of his starting five might be gone.

A league front-office source told FanHouse that the Celtics have been dangling center Kendrick Perkins and their No. 19 pick to teams with high lottery picks in attempt to add a dynamic young talent to their aging core. It’s a tough sell, considering Perkins is facing surgery as early as Friday after tearing his medial collateral ligament and partially tearing his posterior cruciate ligament in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

If Boston general manager Danny Ainge did manage to find a suitor, it would mean Perkins’ seven-year career with the Celtics would come to an end in dramatic form. He was the talk of Tinsel Town leading into Game 7 against the Lakers, when news of his absence broke and the decimated Perkins stood on his crutches and shared his raw emotions with the media.

The Celtics nearly pulled off the upset without him, in large part because of a solid game from veteran Rasheed Wallace. But as the Lakers celebrated on and around the Staples Center floor, Rivers revealed that Wallace may retire.

 

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