The plan was always about size, not just to overthrow the Lakers but also to pound the Heat at their weakest position, to limit Dwight Howard as much as possible, and to physically dominate lesser frontcourts. Rajon Rondo is great, of course, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, obviously, can still play. But the 2010-’11 Celtics were constructed to overwhelm teams with length, tenacity and toughness.

The Celtics added brawn and bulk this past offseason, signing the O’Neal brothers — we suspected, at least — because they knew, without a deep stable of big men, one injury to Kendrick Perkins could mean the difference between winning and losing a championship. Instead of sticking to that plan, the Celtics move forward with a center rotation consisting of A) a 6’9, round mound of no rebound who takes charges quite well but, again, is 6’9, B) two way-past-their-prime O’Neals, who aren’t healthy now and may never be, and C) a chair-throwing Nenad who can’t rebound and whose bald spot makes him look far older than his 27 years. So I ask you: what happened to the plan, to the blueprint that was supposed to bring Boston a championship?

Before I move forward, let me admit that I loved Kendrick Perkins as a player, as a person, and as a reporter on the few occasions I got to interview Perkins. But I’m not allowing that to cloud my judgment of this trade. The thoughts in this column are unbiased, and the thing I care most about moving forward — though I will miss Perk, as a fan — is how this trade affects the Boston Celtics’ chances to win a championship.

There is a chance this trade works out perfectly. If the O’Neals both (miraculously) return to good health, the Celtics will remain deep, strong, big, and tough. They will still have a frontcourt rotation that rivals ( and, mostly, puts to shame) any other team’s. Even if only one of the O’Neals returns, a Glen Davis-Jermaine/Shaq-Nenad Krstic center rotation can hold its own. And the C’s will have added Jeff Green to the bench, a bench that clearly needed some help and has been inconsistent (to say it nicely) this entire season.

There’s a line of reasoning, and it holds some clout, which says the Celtics were fine without Perkins over the first half of the season. That’s true. Their defense survived (thrived, even), and Shaq fit right in with the C’s starters. When Perkins returned, the Celtics were already 33-10 and ahead of the entire Eastern Conference. The Celtics can win without Perkins, there’s no question. But during most of that time, the O’Neals were (relatively) healthy.

Doesn’t this new plan rely far too heavily on two O’Neals, who have COMBINED to play in only 53 games this season? Two O’Neals whose bodies have proven incredibly unreliable? Two O’Neals who can’t stay on the court and can’t reasonably be expected to provide nightly support? Two O’Neals whose careers — not just seasons — have been marred by injury after injury?

What happens if both O’Neals miss a playoff game? Are you happy about the thought of Glen Davis, Troy Murphy and Nenad Krstic trotting out alongside KG to battle Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum? Or Dwight Howard? Or even trying to overwhelm the Heat’s thin frontcourt (which wouldn’t look nearly as thin against the Davis-Murphy-Krstic trio)? Do those thoughts intrigue you? I doubt it. The Celtics were built on size and toughness. Unless the O’Neals get healthy for the stretch run, the Celtics lost a large part of their identity by shipping Kendrick Perkins away. Kevin Garnett remains a Boston Celtics, and he’s their heart. But Boston’s imposing frontcourt will no longer impose, unless the O’Neals are healthy. An “unless” that — if you’ve been paying attention to the C’s injury list — doesn’t inspire hope.

That the Celtics’ championship hopes may now rest on the O’Neal brothers’ health isn’t even what bothers me most. No, I’m most bothered that the Celtics didn’t have to take such a big risk. If they sat steady at the trade deadline, without making a single move, the Celtics would have remained the favorites to win the NBA championship. They had a tried and true method of winning. If Garnett had stayed healthy in ’09, and Perk in ’10, the Celtics possibly could have been three-time defending champions right now. And they did all that winning with Perk as their center, with an unapologetic mean streak as their calling card.

When you thought of the Celtics’ championship hopes yesterday at 2:00 p.m., you knew what the Celtics were. A rugged crew. A team that rose to every challenge, even in defeat. A team that was almost always physically and mentally tougher than its opponent, and never, ever backed down. They were Kevin Garnett screaming his head off, and they were Kendrick Perkins standing by his side to provide the muscle and intimidation (not to mention the wondrous post defense). They were a well-oiled machine consisting of players who knew each other in and out, and had never lost a playoff series when healthy.

Now? The Celtics may be looking forward to 40 minutes of center Glen Davis (who, I remind you, is 6’9) in every playoff game, which may not prove destructive but certainly isn’t ideal. The Celtics may use Nenad Krstic, and his underwhelming 12.2 rebound rate, as Davis’ lone backup. If the O’Neals aren’t healthy — and is there any reasonable reason to believe they will be? — the Celtics won’t be big, bad and strong, like they had planned to be ever since losing Game 7 and seeing the Lakers celebrate an NBA title. They won’t push around opponents to the same extent, and they certainly won’t scowl as much. Whether the Celtics scowl doesn’t seem important, but Glen Davis and Nenad Krstic don’t intimidate people. Kendrick Perkins does. Shaq and Jermaine, if healthy (such a brutal if), might.

Yesterday at 2:00 p.m., the Boston Celtics were the favorites to win the 2011 NBA championship. When the season’s all said and done, they still might win a title. I’m not ruling that out, not by any means. Jeff Green, for all the intelligent people (rightfully) saying he’s overrated, is still a versatile, athletic player who will improve Boston’s bench and give Doc Rivers more options. Nenad Krstic, for all my complaints about his soft nature, possesses a few worthy skills and isn’t a terrible option off the bench. The O’Neals might return to full health, and Perkins might prove to be just what Danny Ainge banked that he would be: expendable.

But why risk it? Why wake up on February 24, the day of the trade deadline, and decide, “Ya know what? Let’s change everything today — our philosophy, our starting lineup, our chemisty. Let’s just change it all. Even though we’re NBA favorites if we just stand pat, and even better than that if we keep our core intact while trading for a Shane Battier type (or even an Anthony Parker type), let’s ship Kendrick Perkins away. Let’s roll the dice.”? Why?

On the periphery, you can argue the trade makes sense. Perkins, for everything he brought the Celtics, had flaws, and — if the O’Neals are still alive by the time the postseason rolls around — Perk’s presence would have made for a very full frontcourt. They had a gaping hole at backup small forward, and Green fills that. The Celtics may also consider Green a better piece for the future than Perk, though that reasoning could be argued and this shouldn’t be about the future. But there’s a reason the Celtics imported so much size: They learned first hand how a single injury can impact an NBA championship. They learned first hand how much they needed Kendrick Perkins. So they implemented a plan focused primarily on adding size, and more size.

Yesterday, the Celtics ditched that plan and decided to go a different route. It wasn’t because they didn’t think they could sign Kendrick Perkins; he told me he couldn’t see himself anyplace but Boston, and a report said he would have accepted a $30 million contract from Boston (which, for a player of Perk’s caliber and size, amounts to chump change). Even if the Celtics did fear losing Perk for nothing, trying to win a title with him now STILL made sense. It wasn’t because they worried about his health, because they offered him a contract extension a few weeks ago. It wasn’t because the current plan had proven itself the wrong plan, because the Celtics, with Perk, were the NBA’s favorites. It was because Danny Ainge felt adding Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, while subtracting Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson, would improve the Boston Celtics.

You know what they say: If it ain’t broke, trade your 6’11, tough-as-nails player away, while risking your teams’ very identity in the process, and potentially hinging your team’s title aspirations on the health of two immensely fragile old men. The Celtics didn’t have to take this risk. That’s what I don’t understand, no matter how hard I try.

Though still shocked and stunned by the Celtics’ trade, the “Leon Powe might return” news at least brings a smile to my face.

Okay, no it doesn’t. Powe has stunk since he left the Celtics, and I’m pretty sure his knees are worse than Brandon Roy’s at this point. Even though I love Powe, I don’t see how he’d help the Celtics at all. But, hey? Who knows?! At least he’s interested in returning. (CSNNE)

While Powe is exploring all of his options as a free agent, he would be open to returning to the C’s.

“I’ll be happy wherever I end up, but Boston is always holding a special place in my heart,” Powe told CSNNE.com on Thursday evening. “The fans were so good to me, everybody up there was so nice, and it would be a great thing to return back to the Celtics if I could.”

David Aldridge believes Powe will end up in Boston, because “no one is [a] bigger fan than Doc Rivers.”

I repeat, I love Powe. I really do. One of my first Celtics pieces ever completely tore apart the C’s regime for letting Powe go after he got hurt. Just seemed like a truly heartless thing to do, and I hated that move for exposing the NBA’s cold business side. But if Powe doesn’t help the Celtics now — and he doesn’t, unless he still has all his old talents but two different Cleveland Cavaliers coaches just didn’t want them — it hardly lessens the blow of losing Perk.

Even if Powe IS entirely healthy and his knees somehow are made of something more than rubber at this point and he’s somehow ready to step right into Boston’s rotation, the Murphy/Powe tandem doesn’t exactly satisfy me. Because that still means Boston’s relying on the O’Neal brothers’ health to win a championship. A thought that doesn’t at all help me fall asleep at night.

Quite honestly, I didn’t watch tonight’s game as intently as I normally do. I usually take notes, but I didn’t do that. I usually Tweet up a storm, but I didn’t. I just watched like an average fan, taking no notes, and all along Kendrick Perkins rested in the back of my mind.

If I felt like that, so focused on the trade rather than the game at hand, how could the players — Perk’s brothers — ever focus? It’s no wonder the Celtics lost by 14 points, 89-75. They were playing a mile above sea level, halfway across the country, with only nine healthy players, on a day when their collective heart was broken and their shots were nowhere in sight.

The C’s just weren’t ready to play tonight, and — just this once — I’m not going to blame them. I can forgive tonight’s effort — shooting 39.0%, being outrebounded 52-38, and scoring only 75 points against the Denver Nuggets — because I know what they’ve been through. Just a few hours before the game, Kendrick Perkins was crying and saying goodbye. Kendrick Perkins, I repeat, crying. In the past two weeks, I’ve seen both Perkins and Jerry Sloan cry, two men who were never supposed to be reduced to tears. The Celtics loved Perk, and, far more than I, will miss him (though I already miss him quite a bit).

Boston signed Chris Johnson to a ten-day contract, mostly because their frontcourt rotation now resembles Johnson himself — very much lacking beef. I poke fun at Johnson, but he played a nice game tonight. He pieced together a Rudy-esque effort, one of those “If you had a tenth of the heart of Chris Johnson, you’d have made All-NBA by now” nights. I’m not sure Johnson will ever play so hard again — he might have been so active only because it was his first NBA game, and he was dying to impress someone, anyone. But he never stopped moving. Ever. He blocked shots. Caught an alley oop. And even though he still looks like he could use a whole bunch of protein shakes, Johnson made a positive impact. He just never stopped working. Sadly, for the Celtics, not everyone worked so hard. I have a feeling their minds were like mine: still stuck with Perk.

The story of tonight’s game was not Kendrick Perkins, and the Celtics — despite taking their sweet-ass time to rush to Garnett’s aid — weren’t entirely lacking toughness in Perk’s stead. But this team, until one or both of the O’Neal’s regain health, lacks bulk and strength down low, and Perk’s willingness to mix it up will be sorely missed. Nenad Krstic fails to inspire fear (or even any sense of trepidation) in his opponents, and there’s never any guarantee the O’Neal’s will ever return to full health. The C’s will likely add a player (or two, or three players) who get bought out, but Troy Murphy, Samuel Dalembert or Leon Powe aren’t going to supply the same iron soul Perk did.

During the third quarter, Kevin Garnett took an elbow from Kenyon Martin and crumbled to the floor. This was the Celtics as we know them; chippy, hard-working, annoying, causing opponents to overreact with unnecessary elbows and force. Garnett fell to the court, and Martin would normally have a scowl in his face a split-second later — and a green and white ’43′ bumping against his chest. But Kendrick Perkins wasn’t there to meet Martin. Glen Davis came running into the fray a few seconds later, and the other C’s followed. Yet none of the late-comers, I can promise, intimidated Martin. The Celtics, you see, have lost their muscle.

I’m still trying to understand the trade, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never understand it. Not unless Shaq and Jermaine have been fooling us all along and are actually 100% healthy, in which case the trade almost makes sense. But I’m moving on, for now, until I write my “goodbye, Perk” and “goodbye, Nate” posts, which will inevitably cause me to revisit my homicidal feelings for Danny Ainge.

The Celtics also traded Marquis Daniels today, along with cash, for the Sacramento Kings’ 2017 second-round pick. Coupled with the Erden/Harangody for a second-round pick swap, the Celtics now have three roster spots open for buyout candidates. Which would be fine, if the buyout list included a solid, tough big man known for his physical presence.

Instead, there’s Troy Murphy. And Leon Powe (who, after a few knee surgeries, isn’t quite the same player Celtics fans remember). And whatever other scraps get bought out because their current teams don’t want them. Now, Murphy’s not half bad. He can shoot threes, and even rebounds well. But these Celtics are known for being a tough, physical bunch. Murphy’s not scaring anybody. He’s not going to combat Dwight Howard. He’s not going to counteract Andrew Bynum. He’s not going to send Chris Bosh into a funk. Neither is Powe. Neither is any other buyout candidate the C’s could add.

For now, at least, the Celtics have signed D-Leaguer Chris Johnson. He’s 6’11 and could use a square meal, but has impressive agility for a big man. I’d be surprised if he stays on the Celtics for more than these ten days, but, then again, I no longer have any idea what Danny Ainge is trying to accomplish.

The Boston Celtics have traded Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. The Celtics also receive the Clippers’ (top-10 protected) 2012 first-round draft choice (whoop-dee fucking do) and traded Semih Erden/Luke Harangody to Cleveland for a second-round draft choice. Yay, in a really not-so-yay voice.

Which brings me to my reaction to the Perk trade: Why? The Celtics had the NBA’s best team. They were the league’s top title contenders, and Perkins was a big reason why. He was their only center I trusted to remain on the court (even after the ACL tear, and the recent MCL strain), and the O’Neal’s can’t stay healthy to save their lives. Jermaine O’Neal’s liable to aggravate his injury walking down stairs, and Shaq’s too big and fat to stay on the court for more than a week or two at a time.

The Celtics are great because they are big and tough, and they are big and tough in large part because of Kendrick Perkins. And now they trade him to Oklahoma City, for A) an undersized power forward who doesn’t play defense and doesn’t rebound, and B) a center whose toughest display was moronically throwing a chair at a Greek opponent? I just don’t get it. Talk me down from a ledge, please. Thinking about the prospect of Nenad Krstic defending Dwight Howard makes me want to throw myself under the nearest bus.

This trade only makes sense if A) the Celtics have complete faith that both O’Neal’s will return to perfect health this season — which makes no sense whatsoever, because they’re about as durable as a glass of water, B) Perkins’ strained MCL was worse than we expected — which makes no sense, because approximately two hours ago he said he might return during this Celtics’ road trip, C) Perk wasn’t going to sign in Boston after this season — which makes no sense, because he said he couldn’t see himself anyplace else, or D) Danny Ainge still has something up his sleeve, which would explain the Semih Erden/Harangody deal that opened up two roster spots.

If there’s no hidden aspect to this, Ainge just shipped Perkins (and Nate Robinson, who I’m actually quite happy is gone) for two players who may or may not completely destroy everything the Celtics stand for. The Celtics have spent all season talking about how they need better rebounding, then traded Perkins away while acquiring two Mark Blountian rebounders. The C’s future looks brighter, but this journey was always about now. Always. Don’t you remember last season, when Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum made the entire C’s frontcourt look like chumps? How do you think they’re going to make Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green look? Even Chris Bosh looks like the next coming of Charles Oakley when standing next to Krstic and Green.

Long story short, the C’s lost a large part of their identity through this trade. They’ll still remain a tough team. They’ll still have Kevin Garnett screaming his head off, and Paul Pierce battling off every injury that comes his way, and maybe even (on a healthy day) Shaq enforcing the paint. But Kendrick Perkins, as limited as he was offensively, and as much as he refused to keep the basketball high, was the Celtics’ toughness personified. He’ll be missed all the time, but especially in the playoffs, when the Celtics look across the court to see Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum looking back at them.

I don’t know where Ainge is going with this, but I assume he has a plan. I just can’t see it, right now. Not at all.

And so I scowl, in honor of Kendrick Perkins. A man who helped bring a title to Boston. A man who may never be as appreciated as he was here. A man who just got shipped away to Oklahoma City, and may take the Celtics’ 2011 NBA championship with him.

According to Gary Washburn, the Celtics are close to a deal that would send Nate Robinson elsewhere. Where, exactly, has yet to be disclosed.

The deal is unlikely to include Cleveland’s Anthony Parker, because the salaries don’t match up (unless the Cavs include another player, which would force the Celtics — who already have an NBA-max 15 players — to cut someone). More to come as the details come into focus.