People are still trying to wrap their heads around the stunning trade that occurred this weekend. Most fans and NBA experts have taken the side of the Lakers, who received Luka Doncic, over the Mavericks, who received Anthony Davis. Kendrick Perkins isn’t one of them.
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On the latest edition of the Road Trippin’ podcast, Big Perk brought the heat to explain why he doesn’t blame the Mavericks for getting out of the Luka business when they did.
“Here’s the thing — y’all know Luka’s a** come into training camp every single season out of shape. Soft tissue injuries, the majority of the time, comes from not being in shape. It’s a consistent thing for Luka, every single f***** season.”
Perkins brought up the fact that Luka is coming due for a supermax extension next summer that would pay him $345 million dollars, and because of his ongoing conditioning issues, there’s no way they could justify paying him that kind of money.
“Ain’t no way in hell! I’m getting away from that as well. I can’t depend on a guy. We saw the video last year when you won the Western Conference Finals. We saw Mike Finley have to come grab the beer, and that was on camera. Imagine how many beers he had to snatch off camera.”
There’s a lot to be said for the leader of a team putting in the work to be in peak condition each year. Look at Zion Williamson as an example of what can happen when a player doesn’t put in that work. Like Luka, he’s supremely talented as well, but he can’t stay on the court and is virtually untradable because of it.
As Perk himself said, Luka did lead the Mavs to the Finals though, which is much more than Zion has accomplished.
Kendrick Perkins believes the Mavs now have the second-best team in the West
Even though Luka is gone, Perkins believes that Anthony Davis is coming into a great situation in Dallas and that he’ll be a great fit for the roster around him. He pointed out that Kyrie Irving has not only been playing well but he’s also shown the maturity to lead the team in Luka’s absence.
Perkins also believes that the rest of the Mavs play better without Luka Doncic, as well.
“PJ Washington, for some reason when Luka is out, his game goes to another level. Spencer Dinwiddie been coming off the bench ballin’. Quentin Grimes, the ball is moving. Kyrie is kicking it up, he’s letting guys cook. And you get to keep Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford.”
Perkins thinks that with AD added to that mix, the Mavericks will be able to play with anyone, including the West-leading Thunder. We’re a little more than halfway through the regular season, so there will be plenty of time to see if he’s right.
