Doc Rivers continued to recruit Kendrick Perkins after Cavs commitment
By Robby Sabo
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Doc Rivers continued to recruit Kendrick Perkins after he already committed to the Cavs.
Kendrick Perkins saw two minutes for his new team a couple of nights ago, and didn’t factor in much at all.
It was the game that LeBron James decided to announce to the world he is still far and away the best basketball player in the world. His Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, 110-99.
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Despite the lack of Perkins minutes, nabbing the former NBA Champion was a high priority for James and the franchise.
Actually, it’s come to the attention of many that it was a high priority for Doc Rivers and the Los Angeles Clippers as well.
On the Hey Windy radio program which can be heard on ESPN Cleveland Radio, former Cavaliers beat writer and one of the best in the NBA business, Brian Windhorst, explained how Rivers tried to convince Perkins to come to Los Angeles instead of Cleveland.
In fact, Windhorst claims that even after Perkins had committed to signing with the Cavs, Doc gave him a rang and used around 45 minutes of the big-man’s time to convince him to wear the Clippers jersey instead.
Perkins of course played with the Boston Celtics under Rivers. They won the 2008 NBA Championship together where Perkins was an invaluable member of the squad.
During that season the 6-10 big man played on the frontline with Kevin Garnett and Paul Peirce. He averaged 24.5 minutes, 6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Celtics, who eventually knocked off Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.
Rivers, being a championship head coach, understands the value of having a backup quality big in the NBA, even if he doesn’t fit into the regular rotation.
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Although the Clippers possess one of the hotter big guys in the sport right now in DeAndre Jordan, their depth has been a major question mark. Perkins could have fit that role like a glove. Rivers also viewed the situation as an emergency considering Perkins was basically the only available big man on the market prior to getting ready for the stretch run.
Windhorst also went on to add that the fact that Perkins chose to head to Cleveland rather than Los Angeles is a great indication on where the Cavs team stands in player perception around the league.
Perkins will back up another newly acquired big man in Timofey Mozgov.
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