UPDATE 12:16 pm: We have the financial figures — $34.8 million over four years, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo. That works out to an average of $8.7 million a year and is about $12 million more than Boston could offer.
Boston was hamstrung with its offer because it is over the salary cap, which means they could only offer an extension of the existing contract with very specific raises. Oklahoma City is under the salary cap so they could be more creative — they increased Perkins salary THIS season from $2.3 million to $6.7 million, then extended that deal into future years with the raises allowed in the current CBA. Very smart and creative. Also, there are bonuses in the deal that could have Perkins making even more.
10: 52 am: Take that, Danny Ainge.
Kendrick Perkins — traded last week in a shocking move from Boston to Oklahoma City because he wouldn’t sign a contract extension — has signed just such an extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to the Oklahoman. Terms of the deal are not yet known, although it almost certainly is for more money than Boston offered.
Oklahoma City reached this deal with Perkins before he ever put on the uniform of the team — he is out a couple more weeks with a knee injury.
Boston had offered a four-year extension of Perkins current contract (with raises) which came to a little more than $22 million. Perkins people rejected it asking for closer to twice that. That was the max Boston could offer because they are over the salary cap, because Oklahoma City was under the cap they could offer more money.
The rejection of their extension offer made Celtics GM Ainge question if he could sign Perkins at all next summer as a free agent, so he traded the center away rather than lose him for nothing.
This signing has to be a punch in the gut to Ainge, although he did get wing Jeff Green and center Nenad Krstic in the deal. Which is nice and all. But Celtic veterans were unhappy when the deal went down, to see a guy considered part of the Celtics core, a rock on their defensive back line, moved at the deadline.
Oklahoma City had some advantages for Perkins. It is closer to where he was raised in Beaumont, Texas, and Perkins was never a bright lights/big city guy.
