Why Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis Trade Confused Kendrick Perkins

Kendrick Perkins had trouble wrapping his head around the Celtics’ blockbuster move to kick off their offseason.

Boston added size, shooting and sound defense in the form of Kristaps Porzingis, but the acquisition of the 7-foot-3 center came at a great cost. As part of the three-team deal with Memphis and Washington, the Celtics said goodbye to Marcus Smart, a committed homegrown talent who arguably was the backbone of Boston’s roster the past handful of seasons.

Perkins doesn’t appear to be terribly high on Porizingis, but the former C’s big man clearly is a big fan of Smart. In turn, the Celtics’ franchise-altering move didn’t make much sense to Perk.

“All I kept hearing about since the Denver Nuggets won the title is the word patience,” Perkins recently said on ESPN’s “NBA Today.” “‘Be patient.’ You know, ‘it takes time.’ All of a sudden, your heart and soul of your team, the voice of your locker room — you trade him, right? Everybody all of a sudden is so high on Kristaps Porzingis. I don’t know where it came from. All of a sudden he’s this incredible player, he’s gonna take Boston over the top.

“But we wasn’t keeping that same energy when the pressure was on him when he was with the Knicks. We wasn’t keeping that same energy when he was paired up with Luka Doncic and he couldn’t handle the pressure of actually playing with Luka and having certain standards. When you go to Washington and Bradley Beal is out and you’re not playing under any pressure and there’s no expectations and you’re able to drop 23 a night, now all of a sudden he’s back to, ‘Oh yeah. He can take you over the top.’ Like, no. No. Marcus Smart is proven. Marcus Smart is proven. Consecutive conference finals, Defensive Player of the Year, helped take this team to the Finals. I just don’t understand it. I don’t understand it.”

Perkins isn’t the only person with Celtics ties who wasn’t crazy about the trade. Longtime C’s reporter Bob Ryan is “not a fan” of Porzingis, as the former Boston Globe staffer believes the 27-year-old “plays small” despite his stature.

Brad Stevens and company evidently don’t share those concerns, as Boston reportedly is “strongly expected” to extend Porzingis this summer.