Washburn: Kendrick Perkins may be amnestied, C’s reunion is “strong possibility”
Will Kendrick Perkins be back in a Celtics uniform next season?
We can file the following under “I don’t quite know what to make of this,” but according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Kendrick Perkins may be available as a free agent next summer, and he may end up with the Celtics again.
According to Washburn, the Thunder would consider amnestying Perk if they don’t win the championship this year, and Perkins still commands strong feelings in Boston, where he started his career. Here’s Washburn on a radio show (h/t CBS Boston):
“His contract is kind of an anchor at this point. He has not been statistically productive for the Thunder; the leadership is there but if you look at the numbers its nothing close to what he did in Boston. So I do think it’s a possibility,” said Washburn. “There are still some strong feelings for him in Boston.”
“You’re talking about Perkins getting amnestied and still getting his money, so obviously he’s not going to demand the same amount from the Celtics,” said Washburn. “I would say let’s see what happens with the Thunder this year; if they win the championship do they dump him – probably not.”
It would be silly to analyze this news too much for two reasons: 1) It’s EXTREMELY hypothetical (after seeing them up close yesterday afternoon, do YOU want to bet against OKC winning the championship?). And 2) We don’t really have a good idea what the state of the Celtics union will look like next season. Will Pierce and Garnett still be around? How healthy will Rondo be? What kind of offseason moves can we expect? Would Perk be joining a rebuilding C’s team (once again) or would he be joining an even-older incarnation of the 2008-’10 core that he was dealt from in 2011? How would Boston’s fans, who made Perkins into something of a folk hero after his departure, react to his return?
None of these questions will be answered until the offseason, so until then they are just wild conjecture. But hey, wild conjecture is what the internet is for, so fire away.
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Celtics Blog | Tom Westerholm | March 11, 2013
I can see it now…..Rondo, Avery, Paul, KG and Perk for one more run. This would be amazing I miss Perk!
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God no, please, anything but that underachieving, no offense, and weak rebounding faux intimidator ever being a Celtic again. There’s a reason he would be amnestied…ergo, he sucks and isn’t producing. Go Cs…
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if I’m correct, under the current CBA only teams under the cap can sign amnestied players.
the Cs are not, and won’t be for the next couple of years.
so I really don’t know what we’re talking about
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The only way we are under the cap is if KG and Pierce retire.
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but I guess in that case perk wouldn’t make such a difference. if KG and PP retire I’d rather invest the money in some big name in the free agency market than staying miserable and bring back a center that can’t tie his own shoelaces without KG telling him how to.
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Just jumping in the comments here quickly:
IIRC amnestied players are put on waivers and bid on by all teams under the cap. If they clear that process successfully (which seems unlikely given that Perkins is still a useful player) they can then sign with any team they choose.
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[...] Town Washburn: Kendrick Perkins may be amnestied, C’s reunion is “strong possibility” - The Globe reporter suggests a scenario where Boston could get their old center [...]
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