When the Kendrick Perkins trade went through, there was a considerable amount of flabbergasting about what it was Boston saw in Jeff Green. That’s only intensified since, especially with the Celtics eliminated in the second round and Green coughing up a pair of killer turnovers down the stretch in Game 5. The Celtics have consistently maintained that Green was the guy they want, and they even plan on giving him a qualifying offer to keep him around. Danny Ainge thinks Green is a big part of the Celtics’ future.
But an interesting element came out of ESPN’s Bill Simmons’ podcast with Boston radio broadcaster Sean Grande this week. As SBNation’s Mike Prada noted: The Celtics began talks with the Thunder not for Jeff Green, but for James Harden. You know, the James Harden that has been en fuego since the trade deadline and has become a legitimate third playmaker for the Thunder and a nightmare for opponents? That James Harden?
Getting past how incredible it is that Presti continues to make the right move no matter what the evidence tells him to (and the evidence would have told him Harden was an acceptable price for Perkins prior to the trade deadline), we’ve got an interesting What If question here. How would Harden have impacted the Celtics?
Well, for one, it would have given them another distributor and playmaker who could drive, lessening the impact of Rajon Rondo’s injury. It would have provided a younger defender to sick on Dwyane Wade who did the most damage. And it would have given them a versatile building block who could have really learned behind Ray Allen and Paul Pierce while being the young cornerstone they need without the inconsistencies and dreaded “tweener” label Jeff Green comes with. In short, it would have been better all around. It may not have made the difference in a Celtics win or loss against the Heat, but you have to think Harden would have given them more than Green, who didn’t seem to adjust to life in the Celtics’ locker room after years in the warm bosom of the OKC locker room.
Green would still be with the Thunder, likely being criticized as fans called for Ibaka to get more playing time (one of the best results of the trade for Perkins, along with moving Ibaka to PF next to Perk), knocking down the occasional three and getting bowled over by Zach Randolph. For Celtics fans, this all comes as another twist in a series of knife twists that have spelled what appears to be their doom, even with Doc coming back. The confidence in Ainge is unlikely to be boosted by the idea that it could have been Harden, showcasing his talents against Memphis currently, rather than Green, who the Celtics would have gotten for the franchise center.
We might as well call Presti “Boris the Bullet Dodger.” Because he dodges bullets, Avi.
