Kendrick Perkins Rumors

Lakers Notes: Ariza, Vogel, Bradley, Westbrook

November 30th, 2021 at 9:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

As Lakers forward Trevor Ariza continues to recover from an October 6 scope of his right ankle, he will remain unavailable for Los Angeles for the immediate future, per Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Goon notes that an Ariza reincorporation into lineups for L.A. would help the club use big man Anthony Davis at the center position more frequently.

Head coach Frank Vogel said that Ariza remains “a ways away” from suiting up for Los Angeles, Goon writes. Without an explicit timeline for Ariza’s 2021/22 season debut, the 6’8″ veteran will soon be re-assessed by team doctors when he officially has been out for eight weeks, writes Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.

“I don’t have a definite date or anything like that,” Ariza said. “It’s all on when the doctors clear or the way my body feels and responds to more loading, more work. That’s kind of the gauge on when I’ll be able to be out there safely.”

There’s more out of the soon-to-be-Crypto.com Arena:

With the Lakers having sputtered to an 11-11 start, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated contends that blaming head coach Frank Vogel for the team’s problems is short-sighted. The team’s significant roster churn appears to be the prime culprit. The Lakers’ main errors this season, Mannix writes, appear to have been the front office’s trade for pricey former All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook and the decision to let guards Alex Caruso and Dennis Schröder depart in free agency.
An MRI has revealed that Lakers combo guard Avery Bradley has suffered a UCL sprain in his right thumb, according to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com. As a result of the injury, Bradley will miss tonight’s contest against the Kings. The 30-year-old has started 16 games of the 21 games he has played for the Lakers this year, averaging 5.0 PPG and 2.5 RPG over 22.2 MPG.
New Lakers starting point guard Russell Westbrook has put up typically impressive, albeit inefficient, counting stats during his first two months with his hometown club, but Malika Andrews, Richard Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins of ESPN’s NBA Today (video link) wonder if L.A. might already be regretting its decision to go all-in for the aging vet.

And-Ones: Oakley, Perkins, EuroLeague, Expansion Draft

March 22nd, 2020 at 7:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Knicks owner James Dolan and former player Charles Oakley have been ordered to mediate their dispute by a federal appeals court, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. A conference call has been scheduled for March 31, requiring that Dolan and Oakley to attend with their attorneys. The order, which was uncovered by sports legal analyst Daniel Wallach, is the latest development in Oakley’s civil lawsuit. Oakley sued Dolan for defamation, assault and false imprisonment after he was arrested and banned from Madison Square Garden in 2017.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Former NBA center and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins has been ordered by his physician to lose weight or risk becoming diabetic, he tweets. Perkins said he’s gained 75 pounds since retiring two seasons ago. Perkins appeared in one game with Cleveland in 2017/18 season, his lone NBA outing since a 37-game stint with New Orleans in the 2015/16 season.
Former Wizards forward Chris Singleton said the EuroLeague should use a March Madness-style format to complete its season, Sportando’s Nicola Lupo relays. Singleton suggested splitting the 18 teams into two groups with a host city for each group. The No. 8 and 9 seeds in each group would play an extra game. A third city would then host the EuroLeague Final Four. Singleton plays for Anadolu Efes in Turkey.
How would an expansion draft look? NBC Sports conducted a mock expansion draft for mythical Seattle SuperSonics and Flint Tropics franchises. See which players Kurt Helin and Dan Feldman selected for their teams here.

Celtics Notes: Kemba, Stevens, Injuries, Tacko

December 21st, 2019 at 9:43am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Celtics point guard Kemba Walker is excited to see what his team can achieve on the court when they reach full health. Currently, injuries to Gordon Hayward, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams and Vincent Poirier are precluding Walker — and fans — from bearing witness to what that could look like.

“Man, we haven’t had our full roster yet,” Walker lamented, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg. “I can’t wait for it. It’s been unfortunate. But when we do …” Their 19-7 record slots the Celtics at the No. 2 seed in the East, by percentage points over the Heat.

There’s more out of TD Garden:

Former Celtic Kendrick Perkins, the starting center on the squad’s last title team in 2008, has picked Boston head coach Brad Stevens as a frontrunner for 2020 NBA Coach of the Year honors, as NBC Sports Boston’s Justin Leger documents. Perkins singled out Stevens’ “next man up” ethos in the wake of Boston’s myriad injuries thus far. Granted, Perkins achieved his biggest career success in Boston, but he also has three former head coaches elsewhere in the league: Doc Rivers on the Clippers, Alvin Gentry on the Pelicans, and Scott Brooks on the Wizards. Perkins’ former Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue is the lead assistant coach on Rivers’ staff.
7’5″ two-way rookie center Tacko Fall‘s regular season home debut last night offered an interesting look into the team’s dynamic chemistry, NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg notes. Fall is averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds across his first two NBA games.
The latest injury update on Gordon Hayward is significantly more promising than Marcus Smart‘s current status. Coach Brad Stevens doubts Hayward’s lingering foot injury will be a long-term issue, and an MRI taken Thursday showed no structural damage. Smart, meanwhile, has missed the past four games with an eye infection. Stevens revealed a troubling anecdote from his medical staff. “The last report I got (from the training staff), they didn’t think they’ve seen one this bad,” Stevens said, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.

Lakers Notes: AD Trade, LeBron, Pelinka, More

October 9th, 2019 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

When David Griffin arrived in New Orleans as the Pelicans‘ new head of basketball operations, he was faced with a predicament related to Anthony Davis, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Sources confirm to McMenamin that there was some lingering resentment toward the Lakers within the Pelicans’ organization – all the way up to ownership – due to the way AD’s public trade request played out earlier in the year. However, Griffin also recognized that L.A. was the most logical trade partner for New Orleans.

“When I took over, there was some latent discontent, maybe with the way things had been handled,” Griffin said. “We just talked about the fact that, look, in all likelihood the best package is going to come from this team, because it’s the only team that AD’s willing to stay at.”

As McMenamin details, agent Rich Paul had signaled to the Celtics and other suitors that Davis wouldn’t re-sign with them in 2020, since the big man wanted to play in New York or Los Angeles.

“The last thing you want to do is put a GM in a situation where he trades away an asset and then the guy walks out the door,” Paul said. “Like, you can’t do business that way. So it’s not really a hard conversation to have. And I don’t think it stopped [Celtics president of basketball operations] Danny Ainge from trying. It’s just that maybe he didn’t have the deal [he wanted]. He wasn’t willing to give up the young players, which I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t give them up either if the guy is not going to re-sign.”

The Pelicans’ big win on draft lottery night helped clear a path for the team to work something out with the Lakers for Davis, as Paul observed to McMenamin: “The fact that [the Pelicans] were going to get the first pick caused me to understand that it softened the blow of losing Anthony Davis because the organization could still have some momentum.”

McMenamin’s story at ESPN provides an in-depth look at several other aspects of the Lakers’ pursuit and acquisition of Davis, as well as the franchise’s adjustment to having him on the roster. Here are some of the highlights:

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said that even on the day the Lakers and Pelicans reached a trade agreement, there were a couple times he was convinced a deal wouldn’t come together. But the front office persevered in part because they believed they owed it to LeBron James. “When a player of LeBron’s stature puts his trust in the organization,” Pelinka said, “I think there’s an implicit bilateral trust going back, saying: ‘We’re going to do everything we can to put you in a position to win more championships, because that’s what you’re about.'”
Pelinka, who added that he believes in treating his superstar players “like partners,” admitted that he has probably had hundreds of three-way calls with James and Davis since the trade as he has solicited their opinions on certain roster moves. “Every single decision. I [have] never been involved so much,” Davis said. “No matter who the player was, he wanted to make sure. It was on everything. And it was like, ‘Wow.’ To the point where I was like, ‘All right, Rob, stop calling me.'”
Kendrick Perkins, who was teammates with LeBron in Cleveland and AD in New Orleans, had a hand in bringing the two stars together. The veteran big man introduced Davis to Klutch Sports in 2018 when word got out that he was considering an agent change, writes McMenamin.
Rich Paul believes that Davis’ ability to make threes and pass the ball separates him from other stars like Giannis Antetokounmpo. AD’s agent offered the following spicy take: “If you put Anthony Davis on that Bucks team last year, they’d be playing in the Finals. He knows how to make guys better. That’s not a knock to Giannis, but that’s just what [I think].”
The NBA was willing to allow LeBron to give up his jersey number (23) to Davis despite the paperwork not being filed in time, but Nike nixed the idea, citing tens of millions of dollars in wasted inventory on James jerseys, sources tell McMenamin.

And-Ones: Munford, Stokes, Davis, Perkins, Brown

January 31st, 2019 at 10:48pm CST by JD Shaw

Former NBA guard Xavier Munford has left the Chinese Basketball Association to join the Wisconsin Herd, G League affiliate of the Bucks, the team announced this week.

Munford appeared in 34 games with the Herd last season, holding per-game averages of 24.4 points, five rebounds and 5.2 assists. He shot 50.9% from the floor and 44.4% from 3-point range during that stint, earning a two-way contract with the Bucks in January of 2018.

Munford went unsigned in free agency and agreed to a deal with the Fuijan Sturgeons this past December. He holds NBA experience with the Grizzlies and multiple summer league stints over the past few seasons, going undrafted in 2014 out of Rhode Island. NBA teams could look to Munford for a potential 10-day contract in the coming weeks.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Free agent Jarnell Stokes has registered interest from teams in China, a source told Hoops Rumors. The Sioux Falls Skyforce announced that Stokes, 25, left the team this week to pursue other opportunities. Stokes was waived from his two-way contract with the Grizzlies in early January after the team was faced with injuries to Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson and other wing players.
The Maine Red Claws have re-acquired Trey Davis, the team announced in a press release. Davis is expected to be in uniform on Friday when Maine takes on the Greensboro Swarm. Davis, a 6-foot point guard, originally made the team out of open tryouts as an undrafted guard in 2017.
Kendrick Perkins and Shannon Brown have become the latest ex-NBA players to sign with Ice Cube’s BIG3 league this summer, the association announced (Twitter links). Perkins, a bruising center who spent 15 seasons in the NBA, played a key role in helping the Celtics win a championship in 2008. Brown, a high-flying guard who held stints with several different teams, won two NBA championships as a member of the Lakers in 2009 and 2010.

Kendrick Perkins Seeking One More NBA Shot, Talked To Celtics

November 29th, 2018 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

After making a brief comeback last season, veteran big man Kendrick Perkins is looking for another shot with an NBA club this season. As A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston details, Perkins said on Wednesday that he reached out to the Celtics to inquire about a potential reunion with his old team.

“I did reach out to (Celtics president of basketball operations) Danny (Ainge),” Perkins said. “I told him, ‘I’m here if you need me.’ He said, ‘You know what, Perk? I would love for you to end your career here.’ And I was like, ‘OK, keep me in mind.'”

During an appearance on Toucher & Rich on Thursday morning, Ainge acknowledged that he had spoken to Perkins, as Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston tweets. However, while the former Celtics center may be on Boston’s radar, it doesn’t sound like a deal will happen anytime soon.

“I don’t think it’s a good fit for our team right now,” Ainge said. “You never know what happens during the course of a season.”

According to Blakely, Perkins said that if he returns to the NBA, it likely won’t happen until at least January, when teams become eligible to sign players to 10-day contracts. And no matter where he ends up playing, the 34-year-old expects 2018/19 to be his final NBA season, Blakely adds.

Perkins didn’t specify any other potential destinations besides Boston, but indicated that he has drawn interest from a couple other clubs and will probably work out for one of them in early December, per Blakely. Citing a source close to Perkins’ camp, Ben Stinar of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter link) identified the Wizards and Timberwolves as ideal fits, so those may be the two other teams the 14-year veteran was referencing.

Perkins signed with the Cavaliers at the end of the 2017/18 season, appearing in his first NBA game since April 2016. However, his 15 minutes of action in Cleveland’s regular season finale represented his lone appearance for the team — he didn’t see the floor at all during the playoffs.

Central Notes: Love, Middleton, Perkins, Pistons

July 19th, 2018 at 10:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier tonight, we heard talk of the Cavaliers sending Kyle Korver to Philadelphia in exchange for Jerryd Bayless. While we wait to see if anything materializes in Cleveland, let’s take a look at some notes from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers are not shopping Kevin Love, though he could be on the move if the right offer presents itself, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentions on the Lowe Post podcast. The scribe adds that Khris Middleton is in the same boat with the Bucks not deeming him untouchable nor looking to deal him.
Cleveland waived Kendrick Perkins to “do right” by the big man and allow him to pursue training camp deals, a source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. The Cavaliers signed Perkins on the final day of the 2017/18 regular season back when LeBron James was still on the roster. The team had hoped to use Perkins’ contract as part of an offseason trade.
The Pistons have added Tim Grgurich and Micah Nori as assistant coaches to Dwane Casey‘s staff, Ansar Khan of Mlive.com relays.
Alex Boeder of NBA.com examines what Brook Lopez will bring to the Bucks. Lopez should be able to help the team stretch the floor with his three-point shot, as over 40% of his shots from the field last came from behind the arc.
FIBA has banned Bucks center Thon Maker for three games in international play for his part in a brawl during a game in the Philippines earlier this month, according to an ESPN report. Maker said he disagreed with the decision in a written statement that was released on his Twitter account.

Cavaliers Waive Kendrick Perkins

July 17th, 2018 at 2:53pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have waived veteran center Kendrick Perkins, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Perkins will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday, assuming he goes unclaimed.

Perkins, who had been out of the NBA since the 2015/16 season, caught on with the Cavs at the end of the season, signing with the club before the playoffs got underway. The 33-year-old big man played 15 minutes in Cleveland’s regular-season finale, but didn’t see any action during the postseason, though he was involved in a couple sideline incidents involving Drake and Draymond Green.

Perkins’ contract with the Cavs included a team option for the 2018/19 campaign, which Cleveland exercised last month. That option decision didn’t guarantee Perkins’ salary for the coming season though, so the club won’t be on the hook for his $2.45MM salary and cap charge.

The move won’t open up any extra cap room for the Cavs, but it will create a little extra flexibility below the luxury tax line. That will give the team more options as it weighs re-signing Rodney Hood and/or using the mid-level exception.

Cavs Pick Up Perkins’ Option For Trade Purposes

June 28th, 2018 at 1:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JUNE 28: The move is now official, according to RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

JUNE 27: The Cavaliers have decided to pick up their $2.445MM option on center Kendrick Perkins‘ contract, Dave McMenamin of ESPN reports. Cleveland had to make a decision by Friday whether to pick up his option.

The move was made to give the Cavs the option of adding his contract for a potential trade, McMenamin continues. Perkins’ salary is still non-guaranteed, but it would become guaranteed if he’s included in a trade. This also signals that Cleveland isn’t afraid to add to its already bloated payroll in order to improve the team, despite the uncertainty of LeBron James‘ future with the franchise.

A no-trade restriction on Perkins will be lifted on July 11.

Perkins, 33, was signed the last day of the regular season and appeared in that game but didn’t play in the postseason. He also played for Cleveland during the preseason.

He hadn’t appeared an NBA game since the 2015/16 season with the Pelicans.

Cavaliers Notes: Nance, Clarkson, Hill, Leonard

June 17th, 2018 at 9:11am CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers aren’t likely to launch a complete rebuilding project if LeBron James leaves in free agency, writes writes Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Three of the players Cleveland acquired at this year’s trade deadline — Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson and George Hill — are all under contract for next year, and the Cavs want to see what they can do when they’re with the organization from the start of the season.

Cleveland is likely to discuss an extension with Nance, who will make $2.3MM next season on the final year of his rookie contract. Teams have called about trading for Nance, Pluto states, but the Cavaliers seem committed to keeping him. Clarkson struggled in the playoffs, but was a valuable bench scorer during the regular season and the Cavs recognize that this was his first postseason experience. Hill has limited trade value with a $17MM contract.

The future is more unpredictable for Rodney Hood, who seemed like a good young player in Utah but had a miserable time after the trade. Pluto expects the Cavaliers to tender a $3.4MM qualifying offer, giving them the right to match any offer Hood receives in free agency.

There’s more Cavaliers news this morning:

Cleveland is among the teams trying to pry Kawhi Leonard away from the Spurs, but assembling a workable offer won’t be easy, Pluto adds in the same story. Kevin Love, who will make $24.1MM next season with a player option close to $25.6MM for 2019/20, would be useful for salary-matching purposes, but San Antonio seems more interested in acquiring young talent than an established player like Love.
Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t think LeBron James should let the pursuit of more championships guide his free agency decision, relays Scott Gleeson of USA Today. “My problem toward the end of my career was I was trying to shut everybody up and I was greedy [for more championships],” O’Neal said. “After I got to three [titles], everybody was saying I couldn’t get another. So I got four. After I got the fourth, they were saying I couldn’t get another one. So I was trying to make quick stops to get it. Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston.” O’Neal adds that it will be difficult for James to overcome the Warriors no matter where he goes.
James’ decision will dominate the summer, but the Cavs have some under-the-radar moves to make as well, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN. Cleveland has a team option on veteran center Kendrick Perkins that must be exercised by June 29. His $2.4MM salary for 2018/19 would be non-guaranteed. Okaro White, who was signed late in the season, will get a chance to show what he can do during summer league. Half of his $1.5MM salary for next year will become guaranteed if he is still on the roster Aug. 5.