Tag: Kendrick Perkins

Kendrick Perkins: ‘I wish LeBron James would retire’

Why does Kendrick Perkins, a one-time teammate of LeBron James, want the future Hall of Famer to retire right now?

Some may say LeBron James isn’t quite the same player he was several years ago, but he isn’t exactly far off the level he used to be at.

He averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds a game while shooting 54% from the field and 41% from 3-point range this season. That type of production led to some others shaking their heads in amazement that he was able to put up those numbers at age 39 and in his 21st NBA season.

At this point in his career, the only thing left for James to accomplish is to win more championships. But as the Los Angeles Lakers are presently constituted, that doesn’t look realistic, assuming he remains with the Lakers past this season.

As a result, Kendrick Perkins, who played parts of two seasons with James on the Cleveland Cavaliers several years ago, thinks the superstar should call it quits right now (h/t Ahn Fire Digital).

“At the end of the day, man, I hate to say it, but I believe this in my soul right now,” Perkins said regarding his opinion that James should retire following his 21st NBA season. “I wish LeBron James would retire, not because I don’t wanna see more of LeBron James, not because I don’t appreciate LeBron James.

“But I honestly believe deep down inside, the more LeBron James continue to play the game of basketball, the more it’s gonna hurt his legacy and the more it’s gonna continue to hurt his G.O.A.T. argument. Because long as he step foot on that floor, every single season, it’s gonna be expectations of him of winning a championship. And when he don’t do that, we’re gonna be looking at him and saying, ‘Well, what happened now?’”

James can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer. Whether he does or doesn’t do so, it is widely expected he will remain a member of the Lakers.

They’re expected to be active on the trade market this summer in an attempt to make one more run at winning it all. If they succeed in upgrading their roster, it may not be a stretch to imagine James winning his fifth NBA championship ring next summer.

But that is a very big if.

Charles Barkley and Shaq roasted Kendrick Perkins for questioning how much basketball they actually watch

Charles Barkley and Shaq quickly put Kendrick Perkins in his place.

Note to self: Never question the professionalism or acumen of two Hall of Famers on any sort of nationally syndicated program. (Especially if it just seems like you’re pandering to a major media market.)

This is an important lesson ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins apparently needs to learn.

On Monday, the former NBA big man hopped on the Michael Kay Show to discuss the New York Knicks’ upcoming playoff prospects. During his conversation, Perkins called out TNT’s Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal for only watching NBA basketball when their network is broadcasting games. As it pertains to the Knicks specifically, who, again, play in New York, Perkins isn’t convinced the TNT duo has seen much of them:

“It’s obvious (that) they don’t watch basketball,” Perkins said on the Michael Kay Show. “I’m serious. They can’t watch basketball on a consistent basis. The only time they actually probably watch the Knicks is when they’re covering the Knicks on their game nights.”

Hoo boy. That is probably not something Perkins should’ve said about his peers on a public platform. Needless to say, Barkley and O’Neal caught wind of his critique and blasted the former role-player center during TNT’s first broadcast of the 2024 NBA Play-In Tournament.

How? They used the news of Blake Griffin retiring from the league to showcase one of his more famous dunks… on Perkins. Then they quickly made reference to Perkins punching up to two all-time greats out of the blue:

If Perkins’ intent was to ruffle some feathers of fellow national NBA broadcasters, he clearly succeeded. He probably should’ve kept his thoughts to the Knicks, though.

Kendrick Perkins: If players are involved in betting, then Adam Silver needs to be over-the-top harsh

With March Madness in full swing, you may have seen a funny AT&T commercial that showcases Kendrick Perkins, Carmelo Anthony, and TJ Ford, players from the 2003 NBA Draft. In partnership with AT&T, Perk took some time out of his hectic schedule to …

With March Madness in full swing, you may have seen a funny AT&T commercial that showcases Kendrick Perkins, Carmelo Anthony, and TJ Ford, players from the 2003 NBA Draft. In partnership with AT&T, Perk took some time out of his hectic schedule to talk with HoopsHype about a wide range of topics including the brewing sport betting scandals, Draymond Green, Boston Celtics, and more.

Kendrick Perkins: Lakers have worse playoff prospects than the Warriors

ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins doesn’t seem to think that highly of the Lakers’ chances of making a deep playoff run.

Over the past decade, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors have combined to win five NBA championships and make seven trips to the NBA Finals. This season, both teams are struggling to move up the standings.

Although both the Lakers and Warriors have played much better basketball since mid-January, they’re only in 10th and ninth place, respectively, in the Western Conference. While some believe both squads could go deep in the playoffs if they continue to play well, others aren’t so bullish about their prospects.

ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins sounds convinced Golden State is better suited to have a deep playoff run than LeBron James and company (h/t Lakers Daily).

“What I’m lookin’ at when I look at the Warriors, I’m looking at a team that has bought all the way in, right?” Perkins said. “A team now that has finally got over that hump, that’s saying, ‘You know what? We’re taking ourselves out of the equation and losing ourselves within the team.’ When I look at the Lakers, I see a dysfunctional organization right now. We don’t know if Darvin Ham is gon’ play D-Lo (D’Angelo Russell) in the fourth quarter. We don’t know what type of minutes he’s gonna get. He may go to IG and post something about dloading and all things to that nature.”

While Russell has been playing well overall through the last six to seven weeks, he’s still prone to poor games and stretches, especially against big-time opponents. On Saturday in a loss to the Denver Nuggets, he scored  four points in the second half and went scoreless in the fourth quarter.

On Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings, he shot 3-of-10 and didn’t make a single shot after the first quarter.

The Lakers have won 14 of their last 23 games, but they have a long way to go to simply reach the playoffs again. If they get there, they will have to contend with a Western Conference field that is deeper than it was last season.

On this day: Walker, Perkins, Erden, Harangody trades; Becker born

On this day in Celtics history, Boston dealt away Antoine Walker, Kendrick Perkins, Semih Erden, and Luke Harangody, and Moe Becker was born.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, forward Antoine Devon Walker began playing for the team that drafted him in what would be his second stint with Boston after being dealt back to the Celtics by the Atlanta Hawks.

Walker had been selected by the storied franchise out of the University of Kentucky with the sixth overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft. Now, he was reunited with his former college head coach Rick Pitino after his rookie season (in which he made All-Rookie First Team) with the Celtics as Pitino was hired as the team’s head coach and president.

Walker would link up with future Boston champion Paul Pierce after he was also drafted by the Celtics in 1998 to make a few deep runs in the postseason in his first stint with the team.

Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics are the talk of the town at All-Star weekend

You may have noticed that there has been a lot of Boston Celtics-inflected stuff going on at the 2024 NBA All-Star Week’s proceedings.

You may have noticed that there has been a lot of Boston Celtics-inflected stuff going on at the 2024 NBA All-Star Week’s proceedings. That is largely due to the fact that the Celtics happen to be owners of the best record in the league and are favorites to win it all this summer.

For that to happen, they do of course have to play the games, but from the 2024 NBA Dunk Contest to the All-Star Game itself, Celtics players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were ubiquitous. To talk it over, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg linked up with former Celtics champion center Kendrick Perkins.

Perk and Forsberg get into all things Celtics and All-Star, the state of the MVP race (and where Tatum is in it), the impact of Kristaps Porzingis and more.

Check it out above!

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Does Kendrick Perkins have a plan with his criticism of the Celtics?

Kendrick Perkins could be testing Joe Mazzulla’s toughness with his recent comments about the Boston Celtics.

In recent months, Kendrick Perkins has been vocally opposed to some of the Boston Celtics‘ decisions. He’s been especially hard on Joe Mazzulla and his coaching style. Yet, Perkins’ criticism seems off base, primarily because the Celtics are top of the Eastern Conference and boast the best record in the NBA.

During a recent appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Perkins hinted that he may be testing Mazzulla’s toughness. In essence, the former Celtics champion is testing the grit and resiliency of the man tasked with bringing the first championship since 2008 to the city of Boston. Perkins was part of that championship-winning team. Since retiring from the NBA, Perkins has become a prominent member of the media and is often unapologetic when sharing his opinions about his former team.

Nevertheless, Perkins may leave the Celtics alone as they continue proving him wrong.

You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded link above.

Listen to the “Green With Envy” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3DoLhYK

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Oj4dhD

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3K8MbvY

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Kendrick Perkins: Lakers will get another superstar this summer

ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins sounds very confident the Lakers will land another superstar this summer.

The Los Angeles Lakers have won three games in a row, six of their last seven and 11 of their last 16. Their offense has been performing at an elite level lately, and maybe they’re finally figuring things out after a choppy first half of the season.

While some feel they’re making themselves into a dark horse contender in the Western Conference, many aren’t fully sold on them making another deep playoff run this spring.

After the Lakers stood pat at the trade deadline, there is speculation that they will look to make a big move this summer in order to reload. ESPN personality Kendrick Perkins even said that they will land another superstar this summer.

Perkins also said the same thing while on “The Pat McAfee Show.” He even said he knows who this superstar in question is and that he would be a “perfect fit” for L.A. and a “match made in heaven” for Anthony Davis.

One target the Lakers reportedly have this summer is Donovan Mitchell, who is having another outstanding season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, they could also make another attempt at landing former All-Star Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks.

Two other potential targets could be Trae Young and Kyrie Irving, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Throughout LeBron James’ career, he has loved to assemble superteams and have the deck completely stacked in his favor. If Perkins’ assertion comes to pass, it could be the thing that keeps James with the Lakers past this season.

On Kendrick Perkins’ call out of Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla

Did the ESPN analyst go too far with his choice of words about the Boston coach?

Former Boston Celtics champion center and current NBA analyst and broadcaster Kendrick Perkins has never been shy about sharing his mind. And in fact, his willingness to drop scorching hot takes has helped his career in the media.

But Big Perk’s recent comments to the effect of saying that if Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla’s brain were placed in a bird, the bird would start flying backward pushed a lot of buttons, with many wondering why Perk felt the need to make his criticism so personal and insulting. Did the ESPN analyst go too far with his choice of words about the Boston coach?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast took some time on a recent episode to talk about the controversy kicked up by the 2008 titlist.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say about Perk making his Mazzulla critique such a blunt instrument.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Kendrick Perkins takes odd shot at Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla

“You wonder if you take his brain out, and you put it in a bird, the bird is going to start flying backwards,” said Perkins.

Since retiring from the NBA, former Boston Celtics champion center Kendrick Perkins has made a career for himself as a successful analyst covering the league he used to play in. But he has also made a name for himself for takes that can get so spicy that they can seem a bit detached from reality. Such was the case with a recent comment made by the Texan big man on ESPN’s “NBA Countdown” regarding current Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla after a loss to the Denver Nuggets.

“They have two Joe Mazzullas,” said Perkins via MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “They have the one that got the philosophy of we’re going to get up more 3s than you.”

“When they hit them, he looks great. Then you have the other Joe Mazzulla, who just stands over there,” he continued.

“You wonder if you take his brain out, and you put it in a bird, the bird is going to start flying backwards,” Big Perk continued, taking a strange shot at the Celtics head coach. “You got that Joe Mazzulla.”

“You know why I say that? It’s because he doesn’t get his guys easy looks,” he explained. “Time and time again, we kept saying, attack the paint. You have so many guys that are great at cutting. They cannot continue to play AAU style basketball all the time. You have got to have sets.”

But these issues are not unique to Mazzulla’s tenure, and go back as far as when Brad Stevens was still the head coach. It seems strange to put such responsibility on Mazzulla for such recurrent problems — and problems which have seemingly been reduced to when the Celtics play the NBA’s very best. Not ideal to be sure, but also improving — and not the coach’s fault.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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