After the Dust Settles...

Yes, the Kendrick Perkin's trade is old news by now if you're a Celtic's fan. I wanted to wait a few days for everything to calm down or as titled above, for the dust to settle.
I wanted to see Green and Kristic atleast 1 game before I made any assumptions. As anyone from the older generations would say, "to assume makes an ass out of You and I." No ass-making here.
As most Celtic fans were, I was blindsided by the Kendrick Perkins trade. Losing Nate....mixed feeling on that one. We've seen Perk grown into a beast Center, not just scoring, but an above average rebounder and scary defensive presence. Some would say maybe Perk's best years were behind him after tearing his ACL in game 7 of vs. the Lakers last year, but I tend to disagree. It was great to have Perk back this season (a couple weeks earlier than expected). I felt as though our team was complete again, especially with Shaq nursing an achilles injury and Jermaine.....wait, where's Jermaine again? Bottom line, Perk being traded hurt. The only real upside to the trade was getting a young, talented player in Jeff Green. Kristic was great with the Nets a few years ago and was also making his way back from a knee injury that has kind of kept him below his potential the past couple years with Thunder. Overall, I think the trade was somewhat even, especially now that they say Perk will be out 2-3 weeks with his newest knee problem.
After watching Green and Kristic play their first game in a Green jersey, I was impressed. Green dropped 7 pts and Kristic had 9 pts and 6 boards (all offensive), even in limited time with foul trouble. I watched Green as a Hoya and was always one of my favorites. The night the Celts drafted him I was excited, until minutes later he was involved in the trade to the Sonics for one Mr. Ray Allen. So, yes, kind of a homecoming for Green. To me, he's a younger, raw version of Pierce, which is exciting.
Overall, I'm still not sure what Ainge was thinking getting rid of Perk and Erden on the same day. Hey Danny, remember Shaq and Jo are hurt? Haha. He had to have had something in mind. With a number of players being bought out, we can only hope Troy Murphy joins the Green. Although, I wouldn't mind having Leon Powe back either. Hell, let's take both. Chris Johnson just isn't enough. And yes, Sheed is staying retired (thank god). We don't need a center who shoots 3's, we need a defensive presence.

So for now we'll keep picking up the pieces and look foward to game 2 with the new guys....1 hour, 40 minutes from now. Who knows, maybe they finally got that first practice in? Expect more tonight. I do.

The Melodrama Over....(Finally)

Well, finally...we can all go back to watching Sports Center, listening to sports radio and just enjoying watching the NBA. I know I've gotten pretty sick of hearing about the Carmelo deals involving the Nets, Knicks, Lakers, Timberwolves, etc. We all knew he was going to the Knicks, right? I mean, who doesn't want to go home to play ball?
Anyway, I'm just writing this to examine this trade closely and see if it was even worth it...and what you think. Let's get this over with...

The Knicks traded Felton, Gallinari, Chandler, Mosgov, their 2014 1st Rd Pick, and the Warriors 2012 & 2013 2nd Rd Picks, which the Knicks got last summer. Wait...let's not forget 3 Million in cash. That's $3,000,000. That's almost exactly 1000 times as much as I have in the bank, nevermind the 7 players they're getting.
The Knicks get an older, 3 point shooting Billups, journeymen Carter & Sheldon Williams, along with Ronaldo Balkman, back for a second stint.
Lastly, the Knicks traded Eddy Curry's expiring contract along with Anthony Randolph to the Timberwolves for Corey Brewer.

So my question....who got the real deal?

First, you need to understand I'm not a Carmelo hater. I'm really not. I'm not stupid...I know he's got game, plus, we're both Geminis (CA May 29, Me May 31). We must have something in common? But...the big but....I have to say the Nuggets got the real deal. The Knicks lost 4 starters....4! The Nuggets lost 2. Don't get me wrong, Carmelo's gonna do what he does, score a lot, grab rebounds and....and...shoot a lot of shots. But, the Nuggets are getting a young scorer in Gallinari, who's only gonna get better over the next few years, Felton, who was by far having his best season statistically and seemed happy, Chandler, who's just a scorer, inside and out, and Mosgov, and unproved Center from Russia, who had a great start to the season and has lately turned his game back on. Nevermind the draft picks the Nuggets will be receiving over the next 3 years, they have 4 guys under the age of 25 who haven't even touched their prime yet.

Yes, yes, yes, the Knicks have Amare and Melo. Quite the duo. Yes, the can coexist and yes, they will. Who else do they have? Who plays Center? Amare is not a true Center. Billups will run point, but for how long. He's getting a little long in the tooth. Turiaf? Please.... No seriously, please. Dont' insult my intelligence. Oh yeah, you got Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, and Shawne Williams. I'm curious to see what Brewer can do....maybe he could fix that ugly jump shot he has.

It's no secret if you know who I am....I'm a Celtics fan. In all honesty, I'm psyched to have another Beast in the East, I'm just really wondering if this was a great move for the Knicks. I would say the future looks bright. Maybe just not the 'immediate future'. What do you think?