Perkins: 'It still hurts that I did get traded'

Prior to Rajon Rondo's Boston Charity Classic on the Harvard University campus Saturday night, former Celtics Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson and Leon Powe all entered the arena to resounding applause, but nobody received a greater ovation than Kendrick Perkins -- not even Rondo himself.

"I never knew how much I missed being here until I got back in here, but I definitely miss the whole city of Boston, the whole area of New England," said the former C's starting center who was traded from the Celtics in February to the Thunder. "It just felt good to be back playing basketball in Boston.

"It's always overwhelming. You try to catch yourself from dropping a tear or something like that, but like I always say, the city has been good to me since I came into the NBA as a young man at 18, so I never take it for granted. I definitely appreciate all the support when I come back to the New England area. I hate to leave, but God does everything for a reason. Boston and all of the New England area is still in my heart, so it was fun to be back."

While the trade that sent Perkins and Robinson to Oklahoma City in exchange for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic shocked the entire NBA world, perhaps nobody was more surprised than Perkins.

"Hurt. Surprised," he said of his emotions upon hearing the news. "I think it really still hasn't hit me yet. I think everything happened so fast -- from me coming back from my ACL injury, to straining my MCL, to getting traded the next day to a young Oklahoma City team where I had to be a leader. It still hurts that I did get traded, but then again at the same time the City of Oklahoma has been great to me, too."

Perkins continued to battle the knee injuries that kept him from the first several months of this past season through the end of the 2010-11 NBA season and the playoffs, but he feels no pain after rehabbing all summer. Now all he can do is continue to work out until the lockout comes to an end.

"If you notice, the players aren't the ones that are asking for everyhing," said Perkins. "We're always made to look like we're the bad guys, but sooner or later both sides have to put their pride aside and go into the meeting with an open mind and an open heart to get something done. Otherwise, there's no reason to keep meeting if you're going to come in with the same attitude."

Perkins felt that if the National Basketball Players Association allowed all the players to vote on whether or not to accept the latest offer from the owners -- rather than just the 31 representatives in New York on Monday -- he would be preparing for Thunder training camp right now. However, he's content leaving the negotiating in the hands of the now defunct players union.

For the record, Perkins' team -- composed of Rondo, JaJuan Johnson, Josh Smith, Rudy Gay and Jeremy Lin -- won the Boston Charity Classic, 145-142, defeating a team composed of Paul Pierce, Daniels, Robinson, Powe, Jeff Green and Kyle Lowry.

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