What is Perkins worth? Myers (Perkins' agent) could probably make a case that Perkins, who still is only 21 (he turns 22 in November) merits at least midlevel-exception money, like the deal the Pistons gave Nazr Mohammed (an estimated $30 million for five years) or even the one the Celtics gave Mark Blount ($38 million for six years) . Myers might also try to make a case that Perkins is entitled to even more. Joel Przybilla re-upped with Portland for an estimated $32 million over five years.
This blurb from Peter May makes sense right up to the part where he says, "Myers might also try to make a case that Perkins is entitled to even more". While I do think Myers might ask for more than 5 years and 30 million, May's definition of "more" is the comically low 5 years and 3
2 million. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think a whopping 2 million dollars over five years really constitutes "more" in today's NBA. I'm pretty sure Miami Vice was still starring Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas the last time $400,000 was the sticking point of an NBA contract negotations. If the worst part of Perkins' negotiations is whether or not we should give him an extra $400K then Danny and Wyc should thank their lucky stars.
The fear with Perkins is that he could hold out for at least two million more A YEAR, not overall. Dan Gadzuric resigned for 6 years, 36 million. Sam Dalembert resigned for 6 years and 60 million. If Perk's agent is worth anything, he's going to be pushing the Celtics towards the Haitian Sensation's tax bracket and saying that Perkins' value is much more than Gadzooky. May argues that the Celtics' counter will be to compare Perkins to Francisco Elson, who just signed for three million a year. Someone might want to tell Peter May that Denver's young talented big man was named Nene and he signed a 6 year, 60 million dollar contract. Francisco Elson is a 30 year old nobody. Youth is a marketable commodity in the NBA and something that none of the people mentioned in May's article have on their side. The youngest guy May mentioned was Joel Pryzbilla and even he's half a decade older than Perk.
Furthermore, the upcoming free agent class is weak (and getting weaker by the second as the members of the class of '03 resign with their current teams) and while May refuses to understand that there will be teams under the cap next season, it's even more ignorant to think that no team would be willing to overpay a 22 year old, hard working, defensive-minded center. The simple and obvious fact is that Perk could demand a solid chunk of change in the open market. The Celtics need to get at him while they still have some control over the situation.
One of the few things the C's have in their favor is Perkins' injury. That is a definite issue and one that could lower Perk's asking price. Some people might, like May, want to point out stats to help the C's cause but Perk's agent would likely point to one stat in particular: minutes per game. Perkins doesn't have the numbers Dalembert had because he didn't get to play Dalembert's minutes. Why should Kendrick be punished for Doc's rotations? In fact, Myers might wonder aloud if maybe Perkins wouldn't be better off somewhere where he could get more minutes and steady playing time? Perkins is a kid coming out of high school heading towards what many people think will be a breakout season; I highly doubt he's going to see his market value as equal to some never-was 30 year old or a disappointing 27 year old, six year veteran who barely puts up better numbers. Finally, a hometown discount seems out of the picture since I'm sure Kendrick and his agent will go for the dough and gladly point out that they are simply following the example set by their captain, who opted for 20 million a year for three years.
Personally, I don't know if Peter May is being ignorant or just setting it up so he can argue that Perkins is overpaid if/when he signs a deal bigger than 6 million a year but to address Perkins' contract situation and state that Perkins could see a five year contract anywhere in the wide range of 30 to 32 million seems disengenuous. To then add that an offer of 3 million a year is even remotely plausible moves the discussion from possibly ignorant to absolutely ridiculous. While I would hope that we could get Perk for just six million a year, I think it's going to take a lot of negotiating to get him and his agent down from around the 8 million a year level. I might not be a fan of the job Ainge has done here, but to outright lie and act like we have a shot at getting Kendrick Perkins for three million dollars a year is unfair and unprofessional.
