Danny Ainge: Genius or Idiot?

Danny Ainge: Genius or Idiot?

“It is better to have lived one day as a lion than a thousand as a lamb.” Those are the words of that famous Fall River philosopher Kenneth James Aloysius Ford (aka Jersey Red) and they are words for Celtics GM Danny Ainge to live by.

It has been about a week now since Ainge made the bold move of shipping Kendrick Perkins (and others) out of town in what turned out to be a surprising makeover of a championship caliber team.

The reaction to Ainge’s decision to part with Perkins has been universally negative from Celtics players, fans, media experts and even NBA players on other teams. Now the Celtics’ GM is essentially in a no-win situation.

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For Danny Ainge, only an 18th championship banner for the Garden rafters will justify his bold move. Anything short of that and he’ll be hearing a lot of “I told you so’s.”

Lakers star Kobe Bryant is one of the latest to chime in on the move. “What the hell?,” was his reaction to the Celtics trade of Perkins to Oklahoma City in an interview seen on ESPN.com. “The Boston thing I just didn’t get because Perk was instrumental against us to what the Celtics did defensively…..”

Bryant’s not the only one questioning the move. Even Ainge’s own players have their doubts. “You just hope Danny and Doc know what they’re doing,” Paul Pierce told the Boston Globe. “We put our trust in them. We can’t use any excuses or cry over spilled milk.”

Yes, you can argue that the Celtics got the best player in the deal by landing Jeff Green. Some might say that this alone makes Danny Ainge and Boston the winner in the deal.

Also, if you objectively look at Perkins and his game, you’ll come to the conclusion that he is a replaceable player. He’ll never be mistaken for the next Bill Russell or anything close to that.

Then there’s the fact that he was going to be asking for lots of money this offseason which made getting something for him now seem all the wiser.

But the down side of this trade is that Perkins was a defensive presence and a rebounder. His role wasn’t a glamorous one, but it was valued by the Celtics none the less. Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic don’t exactly fill that void. Shaquille O’Neal may, to a certain extent, but can you really count on a soon-to-be 39-year old oft-injured player to give you quality minutes game in and game out?

With one bold move, Danny Ainge changed the look and the chemistry of the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics. Only time will tell if it was a stroke of genius or the beginning of the end for the quickly closing window of opportunity for the Pierce-Garnett-Allen led Celts.