Kendrick Perkins has often triggered heated backlash from NBA fans through his divisive and controversial ‘hot’ takes. Big Perk’s stint with ESPN over the past few years saw many contentious opinions broadcasted on live television, a recent example being the racism claims on MVP voting. Prior to the selection of the league MVP last season, Perkins insinuated that the MVP voting procedure was likely to be racially skewed toward Nikola Jokic because of the white voters in the ballot. This outlandish claim prompted a lot of flak from the NBA community, with even former players and pundits calling out the former Celtics star. However, Big Perk is back again with another hot take on all-time blockbuster offseason trades, which has managed to pique Shaquille O’Neal‘s interest, probably because of the rank of his $27,696,430 move to Miami.
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Shaquille O’Neal emerged as the most dominant player during the Lakers’ three consecutive Championship campaigns from 2000 to 2002. However, things would soon turn sour in paradise. The superstar duo of Shaq and Kobe became the center of media attention after embers of their internal rift spilled over to the outside world. The Lakers’ front office found it inevitable to separate the two stars to mitigate a civil war within the organization. The LA side opted for the younger star in Kobe as their franchise’s centerpiece, trading Shaq to Miami on an annual salary of $27,696,430.
Shaquille O’Neal shares Kendrick Perkins’ all-time blockbuster offseason trades list
As the teams crunch numbers to bolster their roster before the 2023-24 season start, Kendrick Perkins came up with a top five list of NBA’s greatest all-time blockbuster trades. Shaquille O’Neal ended up sharing a graphic of the list on his Instagram stories, probably swayed by his move to Miami occupying the third spot.
Shaq shared Perk's All-Time Offseason Trades list 👀 pic.twitter.com/e42Npml9i2
— Dubs pls get some Bigs (@dubs3000) July 19, 2023
Perk’s list placed Kawhi Leonard’s acquisition by the Toronto Raptors fifth and Kevin Garnett’s move to the Boston Celtics fourth on the list. Both moves led to the franchise winning NBA championships. As mentioned before, Perkins placed Shaq’s move to Miami at number three. “You know why this was special for me,” he said, while decoding the move on ESPN, “because I thought this was the coming out party for Dwyane Wade…Shaq took the load off of him and he was able to be the best version of himself.”
Shaq’s Miami move brought the Heat their first NBA Championship in franchise history in 2006. At number 2, Perkins had Anthony Davis’ move to the Los Angeles Lakers from New Orleans, which brought home the 2020 Championship for the LeBron James-led Lakers.
Last but not least, the 2008 NBA champion topped the list with Dennis Rodman’s move to the Chicago Bulls from San Antonio. “If they don’t have Dennis Rodman, they don’t get those Championships,” Perkins declared. Rodman was an integral part of the Chicago side’s second three-peat from 1996 to 1998.
Perkins ranked AD’s Lakers move over Shaq’s trip to South Beach
There’s no doubt that Shaq left his most dominant self in LA. The Miami side saw the Diesel adopt the more mature role of a mentor to Dwyane Wade. Shaq’s explosive prime that saw him bag three Finals MVPs while putting up all-time numbers in the NBA Finals was long gone.
However, placing AD’s Lakers move above Shaq’s Miami stint might upset a lot of fans. Despite helping LeBron James add a fourth ring to his tally, Davis’ stint with the LA side has been mostly riddled with injuries. However, Perk being a big supporter of LeBron James in the GOAT debate, probably decided to give the King’s running mate the benefit of the doubt.
