Trading places: OKC Thunder top 5 trade deadline deals

Kendrick Perkins:

Prior to trading for Kendrick Perkins in 2011, Oklahoma City was in desperate need of a defensive anchor in the post to play alongside Serge Ibaka. Nenad Krstic filled the role in the early years, but for the OKC Thunder to advance, they needed something more. Enter KP.

Perkins was swapped along with Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Krstic from Boston. At the time, not everyone was sold on giving up Green, but Perkins ended up being worth the price tag. Although not much help offensively, he made up for it defensively.

A fan favorite in Boston, Perkins made opponents think before driving the lane. And despite some comedic blunders, he actually forced a lot of shots to be altered. KP was the man in the middle for three years before handing the baton to Steven Adams. But he did come back for one last ride after one year in Cleveland for the 2016-17 season, logging just under 20 minutes in 51 minutes.

Nate Robinson was an intriguing piece at the time, but he wasn’t given much of a chance, playing just four games. This trade was all about acquiring KP and filling a big hole in the rotation. Sure, Green really hit his stride with Boston, but there’s no guarantee he would have found a rhythm in OKC with Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kevin Durant taking a majority of the shots.