Rejoice, for Kendrick Perkins shall sign with the Cavaliers
2015-02-21
This Cavaliers season has been one of highs and lows. The team won the draft lottery, LeBron came back, Kevin Love came shortly thereafter, and all was good. Then, the team, and Love, had some serious struggles out of the gate, and woe came down upon us all.
Recently, the Cavs have been on an absolute tear since getting healthy and acquiring Timofey Mosgov and J.R. Smith, and now things get even better: The Impossible Dream has happened, and Kendrick Perkins will now be a Cleveland Cavalier, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young, who previously wrote what must be considered the definitive post-Celtics Perkins piece earlier this season.
Perkins is mainly known for his ability to set lots and lots of screens, many of questionable legality, and his individual post defense. He does very few other basketball-related things well. Out of 346 qualified players, Perkins ranks 335th in PER, which is not good. He has one of the worst True Shooting percentages in the league at 46.1%, which is impressive since he’s a center who rarely shoots, and he has the highest turnover ratio in the league. (However, his True Shooting percentage is still higher than Dion Waiters’, so there’s that.)
Perkins’ Real Plus-Minus is kinder to him, however, and puts him right about in the middle of the pack among NBA centers, which backs up the notion that he contributes with screens, post defense, and rim protection in ways that don’t show up on the stat sheet. (It should be noted that RPM has not been nearly this kind to Perkins in years past.)
It’s clear what Perkins provides: A battle-tested veteran who can be relied on to give spot minutes in the playoffs and give Mozgov a rest in the regular season, and a guy whose myriad of deficiencies will be mostly covered up by playing with three guys who can keep the floor spaced and will have the ball in their hands for the vast majority of the time.
Does anyone know when Perkins’ first game is?
Sounds like he passed his physical yesterday, so could be available for tonight’s game in Detroit… Certainly seems like they could use him against Drummond, Monroe and Co.
I am loving this pickup, not only because it’s great on-court insurance, and not only because it means a veteran with championship chops surveyed the lay of the land and said “smart money is on the Cavs if I want another ring this very season” but because Perk essentially said to Doc Rivers, “you know, I’ve played your team 20 times the last three years, and you can fool Big Baby and you can fool Hedo but you can’t fool me. The Clippers you built are a fraud. It’s got a fraud at coach, a fraud at backup shooting guard… Read more »
Marion got a DNP tonight, along with Mike Miller. Marion is injured (as per Jason Lloyd and Arch Stanton), and making the veteran’s minimum, less than a million a year. Mike Miller is actually making closer to $2.7 million per year. Maybe the rookie point guard is getting playing time over Miller to see what the Cavs have got, or because you can’t send Miller down to the D-league? Anyway now that Perkins is arriving I would love to see CTB do a post focused on the Cavs’ second unit. What is the role of Joe Harris (and why did… Read more »
Good points. Blatt’s 8 man rotation is pretty set. It seems that if, and a big if, Marion is healthy, he might be part of a 9 man rotation. Otherwise, everyone else on the bench has a very limited and specific role. Jones, Miller – vets who can come of the bench for one play where we have to get a three. Otherwise, they are garbage time or serious foul/injury trouble to one of the rotation. They have experience, can come in cold, and won’t wilt in the spotlight. Perkins – to give Moz a breather against tougher frontcourts and/or… Read more »
This pick-up is geared for 2 possible playoff opponents. The Chicago Bulls and the Memphis Grizzlies.
With Perkins, the Cavs now have a full second line of appropriate big guys to match up if/when fouls, injuries, or cheap shots become an issue.
@JasonLloydABJ: Shawn Marion reveals the left hip injury that has bothered him sporadically the last couple months: http://t.co/iNSTFicDTH
Explains his lack of PT
Good article . . . so a few more snippets – “Perkins epitomizes the idea of an NBA role player, someone who realizes his value isn’t in what he produces, but in what his teammates around him do. He’s remarkably self-aware, a player who is never going to confuse his skill set with that of a Pau Gasol or a Dwight Howard. He consistently makes fun of himself in practice, recently saying, “It happens to the best of us, me, Jordan …” A lot of GMs look at a person and say, ‘What does he bring to the table without… Read more »
Agreed, thought it was a great article… I mentioned earlier in this thread my favorite line was about him yelling to Steven Adams that he was the “only silverback”. As many have mentioned… I dare anyone to mess with Kyrie/LBJ/Love now.
More – “Perkins’ role has always been twofold: do the dirty work on the floor, and be a strong leader off it. He’s also a notorious motivator. Durant tearfully acknowledged Perkins in his MVP speech, talking about the late-night texts of encouragement he’d receive from the center. One player said Perkins is almost like a team psychologist, making phone calls and sending constant texts to mentor and motivate. It seems like a canned cop-out to say a lot of Perkins’ value lies in his intangibles, but he means something to his teammates. You can see that in the way they… Read more »
ESPN’s Royce Young – “My biggest thing is whether I come off the bench or if I start, however many minutes I get, I just got to go out there and play as hard as I can and do what I need to do,” he said. When I step on the court, it’s to show everybody I still got it.” So far this season, Perkins has looked rejuvenated. Maybe it’s the motivation of a contract season or the loss of his starting spot, but he’s playing with more energy and making a more discernible nightly impact. He’s never been a… Read more »
Just maybe KP will do even better now on the Cavs. Look how the “new 3” are all looking much better since they showed up. You might get tired of LeBron talking about being a leader, but he really IS a leader. And players step up when on his team. I understand that completely; as a so-so player hanging around in gyms for 50 odd years, I always played a lot harder and smarter when on a team with a good college player, or a HS coach. For one thing, I didn’t want them giving me the hairy eyeball if… Read more »
I think we’re set. With LBJ able to play point forward, I don’t see why we need a back up PG.
The Genius mentioned earlier that – in the playoffs – Cavs will likely have either LBJ or Kyrie on the floor at all times.
Agree. The NY duo can possibly provide some brief emergency PG help if needed.
Now we need to see what we can get from the Matrix, JJ, and MM. Anyone have a clue why Matrix has not played in weeks?
Miller/Jones/Harris have moved up on the depth chart… along with Shumpert now receiving more minutes as he should.
I forgot where I heard it, but someone said Matrix has handled the demotion well… he’ll be ready when called upon.
Delly and J.R —” THE LANDS ” own version of ” the odd couple “—it was a hit sitcom on t.v.—hoping it’s a hit come playoff time
I endorse this message.
@ESPNStatsInfo: Via @royceyoung: Kendrick Perkins commits to join Cavs. They add a top rim protector per NBA’s player tracking data: http://t.co/dbB6g5Ei6K
I had no idea until today when I did a twitter search for Kendrick Perkins, but did y’all know that Perkins and LBJ were on the same AAU team for a tournament in Houston, TX when they were in high school?
Might have been a way for LBJ to recruit the big man, prior history.
I don’t know if it’s true or not. But I remember hearing that Kendrick Perkins parents owned Perkins restaurant. I’ll have to look it up.
I think Perkins restaurant chain has been around for 50 or 100 years. Just checked online: 1958 in Cincinnati.
@KendrickPerkins: I’m on my way! @KingJames @KyrieIrving @RealTristan13 @kevinlove @MikeMiller_13 @TheRealJRSmith @I_Am_Iman! #Cavs
No shout out to Delly?!?!?!?
@Kendrick Perkins: hey, @Delly @JamesJones @Mozzy @BrendanHaywood @Joe Harris you guys too! #allthecavs
just kidding. he didn’t tweet that.
Dang it HPBD! You got my hopes up… that would’ve been an awesome tweet!
I feel like he left Mozzy out because the two got into a scrap during that last game.
Preach it Arch!!! Delly will be his alley oop partner after all?!
I remember when the Cavs signed J.R. Smith and someone tweeted out “Do you think J.R. Smith knows how Delly is?”
HAHAHAHA… that’s hilarious! They’re best buds now! hahaha!
Perk is a nice insurance policy and guy that can play when opposing teams try to bully with back to the basket bigs. But I’m more excited about how well Shumpert and Mozgov are playing. Young, spry, playing good defense – and Moz has been killing it with the alleyoops. Shumps spot 3 point shooting has been awesome too. Team is adding depth to a starting 5 that has been killing it recently.
At the beginning of the season, interior defense and all around grit/toughness were the Cavs’ weakness. Hah!
HAHA… Perkins takes care of all that and then some!
It’s incredible how much their roster has changed through the season. They are going to pulverize teams in these last 26 games
hoping K.P. is on board for the pistons game to ” flex his muscles / meanness ” on them —–all the cavs should feel a lot more safer ” they have a true enforcer guarding their backs “—-want to se the 1st person with a hard foul on LeBron and see what happens
EVIL fwiw you have been gone TOO LONG get your A– BACK TO THE ” LAND ” —WILL BUY YOU AN ALE ON YOUR RETURN !!!
I might have to come back for at least a playoff game… ;)
If they make the Finals I’m coming back. I missed being back at my alma mater when OSU won the NC. Was painful to watch it alone.
Perkins is a good pick up. I am wondering about the need to swipe at Dion, a former Cav yet again. Actually Dion’s TS% at 46.8 as a Cav was higher than Perkins 46.1. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/waitedi01.html And then why the comparison of a center who does not shoot 3’s to a player that does. TS% doesn’t distinguish between a 2 shot made to a 3point shot made in the formula. And then there is the 44% weighted for free throws. TS% = PTS*100/(2*(FGA + .44*FTA)) There have been times when using TS% that centers like Howard actually has had higher ts%… Read more »
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE —–I THINK WE CAVS FANS ARE REALLY LEARNING THAT THIS SEASON —–GRIFF WAITED / DID NOT TRADE ANY VALUABLE ASSETTS AND STILL GOT THE MAN THAT CAVS REALLY NEEDED AND DESIRED —GREAT JOB—WELCOME TO THE ” LAND ” K.P.
Who started calling Cleveland “The Land”? I’m only asking cause I haven’t been back in a while and the first time I saw it was in a Bron tweet I think…
That has been around for decades. Also, “The Burg” for Pittsburgh.
I left in 1997 and in the two plus decades I lived in the area, I never once heard it called that… fwiw…
I think it becoming popular is a recent thing. I think maybe Swisher and some of the Tribe guys also started saying it. But LBJ has been the one really pushing it since his return.
HAHA… this is funny to me since the same thing happened in Cincinnati. Now, people in recent years say “the ‘Nati”.
It was around at least as far back as when i was in high school (2002-2006), I remember people saying it. I also remember DNA Level C (Cleveland spelled backwards) being popular and I think I even saw some tattoos and t-shirts featuring it
Best line of that Royce Young piece re: Perkins, “I’m the only silverback!”
Really got to give it up for Griffin. He has done a tremendous job ever since he took over the reigns.
Agree… but also with a few nice assists from LBJ…
Of course having a little bit of hardware really does wonders for one’s sales abilities…
Of course, LBJ is the reason they’re all here. According to Royce Young’s article, Perkins was directly recruited by Lebron. But it was Griffin’s patience though the deadline that allowed them to add Perkins and give up nothing. It was Griffin’s resourcefulness that added Mozgov, JR, and Shump in January. All the while he still has Haywood’s contract in the back pocket to really bolster the bench this offseason.
He’s proving to be a very level-headed and intelligent GM.
Great point about the patience of Griffin. Glad there wasn’t a panic to make something happen especially in light of all the action happening at the deadline.
Completely agree on Griff. He’s done a terrific job. Just didn’t want to understate LBJ’s role in at least some of the moves. Griff and LBJ have both done a lot to construct this team… and of course it’s also great having an owner that will spare no expense to foot the cost of a championship contender…
I think Griff played things right to get LBJ to come here. Signing Kyrie to a max at 12:01 was one thing. Giving up, what we thought were promising players (Zeller, Jack, Karasev, et al) to make room also helped.
So if Griff helps grease the skids to get LBJ here – he gets some credit for the guys LBJ pulled in (primarily Love).
Man, Jack is my most ideal back-up PG. love that guy
I agree believeLAND… Jack had confidence and veteran savvy.
Griffin is the anti-Grant. It’s baffling that those two actually worked together.
This is scary. Really scary. If I were a part of any of the other 29 teams, especially the contenders, I would be shakin’ in my boots right about now….
I think I just heard the rest of the league sigh “oh crap.” OKC leading the way.
Also, always great to see an article from JK! Even if it’s just a short one on Cavs getting Perkins. Miss your writing John!
Agreed, John’s a joy to read.
I hope the first thing he does is apologize to JR for the pick he obliterated him on in the game earlier this year against OKC… But seriously, it’s a very good thing to have some big man insurance in case Moz, TT or Love have to deal with injury or foul trouble. It’s going to be weird to have to root for Perk after years of hating him… but I guess if I could learn to love JR, I can try to adjust my thinking towards Perk. At any rate, it’s better than the alternative which would have been… Read more »
I think there will be a lot less cheap fouls on the smaller guys, particularly Delly. Blatt should consider getting the message out ASAP: as soon as there is a cheap foul, stand up and point for Perk to go to the scorers table. The opposing coach will have to take his guy out.
I like your thinking Raoul!
Exactly, EG…. he has a ring, and played a big part of earning that one I might add.
I am twerkin’ for Perkins!
You definitely need a t-shirt that states that… Lol…
That is a great idea. :)
How about a CtB t-shirt with Ref Lauren?
^^^^^^ YESSSSSS!!!!
Can we get a GIF of you twerkin’ EG?
I think you mean Hot Sauce… ;)
Looks like we have a prototype (courtesy of google image search). Just need to change the words.
http://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/2018871177_1/Men-font-b-T-b-font-font-b-Shirt-b-font-Casual-font-b-twerk-b.jpg
Actually, this one is better. Especially if Perk’s face replaces Mona Lisa’s:
http://www.zazzle.com/mona_lisa_twerking_tee_shirt-235477804046642642
Nice! Let’s get Fresh Brewed Tees to create this!
FYI: You won’t find Perkins value in a stat line. Several awesome teams went after him immediately.
In that case, Cols is gonna hate him…
My initial reaction was one of visceral disgust when the possibility was first broached a few days ago. Leftover radiation from the Boston days. I’m all in on Perk though; he’s just one of those guys you hate on the other team but love when he’s on your team. Attitude, physicality, us-vs-them bunker mentality, interior defense, enforcer. Just the consummate thug. Whatever our team was lacking before, I think he fits into that void quite nicely, and makes us nearly whole. Other than that, a backup point guard maybe instead of Miller or Jones, and this team would have no… Read more »
Again, glad OKC made the trade to pick up Kanter. Thanks much.
Griff is a genius even when he doesn’t do anything.
So true… now he can save the Haywood contract for this summer… and he still got some big man insurance…
@MySportsLegion: Andrei Kirilenko has been released by the 76ers.
I don’t think we have a roster spot, unless we cut someone. I think AK47 used to play for Blatt tho.
Doubt they add anyone else other than maybe Ray if he ever decides. Ray is probably the only guy they’d cut someone for. And that person would most likely be Harris since they’ll want to hang onto the Haywood contract.
If Ray either decides to stay retired or join another team, I could see them possibly adding a PG on a vet minimum and cutting Harris, but that seems less likely since LBJ can bring the ball up and it’s doubtful there will be many playoff minutes played without either him or Kyrie on the floor…
Someone (Windy?) is suggesting Jeremy Lin will be brought out and the Cavs are likely to get him. Sounds like a long shot.
Would highly disagree with picking up Lin… can’t play defense, no confidence in his shot on offense.
Ugh… he’s just so bad. I’ve watched too many Laker games this year where he just dribbles around and either does nothing or makes a horrible decision…
He’s gone from Linsanity to Linsufferable, Linoperable and Linept…
That was before Perkins committed to the Cavs, when he was speculating on potential buyout options. Dont think thatll happen now that Perkins took up the last roster spot
That’s a relief to hear, Bimmy.
They have the roster, they was holding for Ray Allen, If Allen decides to sign, than they will have to cut somebody. Maybe Haywood, if wont cost them to much.
@KingJames: The Land welcome my bro as well as my muscle(LOL) @KendrickPerkins to the city with open arms! Happy and thrilled to have u aboard homie!!
Did he really just call him his bro, his muscle and his homie all in one tweet?
Goon in residence: ACQUIRED! Better not mess with us!
Good catch EG. I guess LBJ is excited. I wonder what he left out?
@KendrickPerkins: The only thing I regret is not winning a ring In OKC! Wanted 1 bad