LeBron on Kendrick Perkins: 'He brings a championship DNA'
Kendrick Perkins isn't much of a factor on the court anymore, but LeBron James and the Cavaliers sound convinced that the veteran big man will be a positive presence in Cleveland.
"First of all he brings a championship DNA," James said Tuesday, as reported by Northeast Ohio Media Group's Joe Vardon. "A guy that's been there, knows what it takes to win it all, brings toughness to our interior," James said of his former AAU teammate, who the Cavs signed after he was waived by the Utah Jazz following a deadline day trade.
"Great locker-room guy," James added. "All he cares about is winning. That's very important to our chemistry, very important to what we're building here and we're happy to have him."
If the Cavs were simply looking for a veteran locker room presence, the acquisition of Perkins is fine. But if they're hoping to squeeze some productivity out of the 30-year-old, who won a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, they'll likely be disappointed.
Perkins does two things well. He's a solid screener on offense, which helps create some space for his more talented offensive teammates, and he can protect the basket, limiting opponents to 45.3 percent shooting at the rim, according to NBA.com's player tracking data.
The rest of his game, unfortunately, has deteriorated to the point that his few positives are negated. Perkins' non-existent offensive game does more damage than his screening could ever cover for, as he shoots 44 percent from the field despite the fact that more than 91 percent of his shots come within 10 feet of the basket, according to Basketball Reference.
In addition, he turns the ball over on more than 25 percent of his offensive possessions, marking the second straight season that Perkins boasts the league's worst turnover rate among players who've logged at least 500 minutes.
That offensive ineptitude essentially leaves his teams playing 4-on-5, and while his rim protection is impressive, he's lost a step as an overall defender.
Perkins was a solid big man for the Celtics in the mid-to-late 2000s and he somehow (cough, Scott Brooks) found a way to stay on the floor in Oklahoma City despite a half-decade of ineffectiveness, but other than his friendship with James and his locker-room reputation, there's no reason that a Cavs team that has won 16 of its last 18 games and has improved dramatically on the defensive end needs him.