Everyone loves a good trade. Everyone also loves a good trade story, even when the deal didn’t end up happening.
The latter was the case as it relates to Kendrick Perkins, who, according to the big man, was sought to be reacquired by the Thunder at the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline.
Perkins made that declaration in a wide-ranging interview with Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Perkins spent five seasons with Oklahoma City after being acquired by the franchise from the Boston Celtics in 2011. The trade included the Thunder sending Jeff Green to Boston in return. The following season, with Perkins as its starting center, the Thunder advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals where they lost to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games.
By 2016, Perkins had found himself teamed up with Anthony Davis in New Orleans, and interestingly enough, Sam Presti and his front office were, according to Perkins, interested in his services once again.
According to the big man, Pelicans general manager Dell Demps gave him the impression that he wanted Perkins to be a part of the team’s future, which is why he wasn’t traded. That summer, though, the Pelicans opted to not re-sign him, further upsetting Perkins, who seemingly would have welcomed a return to Oklahoma City.
Perkins says Demps “told me when I got to the Pelicans ‘Wow, we never had a leader like you. I appreciate you, we want you to retire here, we want you to be here the next two or three years, blah blah blah.’”
When Perkins’ contract was up that summer, there was no two-year deal for the vet minimum Perkins was hoping for. Only a call from Demps, who said, “I think we’re going to move in a different direction.”
Here are the real-life ramifications of Perkins’ Demps story. First, Perkins said both the Cavs and Thunder tried to trade for him at the deadline, and were rebuffed. The Cavs won the title; the Thunder blew a 3-1 lead to the Warriors in the conference finals.
In case you need a reminder, the Thunder famously lost the final three games of the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors, who ended up doing the same against the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Kevin Durant left for Oakland, Perkins ended up in the G League and the rest is history.
One can’t help but to wonder what could have been had the trade in 2016 happened, though.