It is not clear that Kendrick Perkins has any idea what he is talking about.
You only need to sit through one segment of basketball coverage including the onetime bruising center to understand that reality. He played in the league, of course, but he doesn't understand how defensive coverages have evolved. He nominally keeps up with the league now as an analyst for ESPN, but it seems that his takes come from social media rather than breaking down film and speaking with coaches and GMs and agents.
And if there is one thing that can be said for sure about Kendrick Perkins, it's that he doesn't care if what he is saying is fair or accurate.
Kendrick Perkins blasted Donovan Mitchell
In the wake of the 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers losing in the second round to the Indiana Pacers, everyone and their mother is taking time to explain why something is systemically wrong with this team. Make a token comment about the injuries, then dig into why the Cavs are not tough enough, not built well enough, don't care enough, etc.
Perkins was all too happy to join in on dunking on the Cavaliers, but he took a fascinating and perplexing approach. He put the blame on Donovan Mitchell -- and not on Mitchell's limitations as a playmaker that force the Cavs to play him next to another guard, nor on his tendency to get nagging injuries in the playoffs.
Instead, Perkins went scorched earth on Mitchell's leadership and loyalty to the franchise. Speaking on an episode of "Road Trippin'" the onetime big man called Mitchell soft, pointing to his Twitter-found fact that Donovan Mitchell had never led a team to the Conference Finals -- not when he was on the Utah Jazz, not since he has joined the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Then he takes Mitchell to the woodshed for his part in getting J.B. Bickerstaff fired, as Perkins describes it. That Mitchell didn't like Bickerstaff, didn't talk to Bickerstaff, and that he forced the organization to fire the coach before he would sign an extension.
This is a take that is completely devoid of an understanding of the facts. He is probably right that the relationship between Mitchell and Bickerstaff was not perfect, but that's hardly something unique to those two individuals; such could be said of many stars and many coaches around the league.
To suggest that Mitchell was the only reason Bickerstaff was fired is nonsensical, but unprovable. Yet Perkins' facts are wrong. Bickerstaff was fired on May 23 of last year, after the Cavs essentially repeated the same season as before and fell short in the playoffs. Mitchell didn't agree to his contract extension until July, when he was eligible to do so.
What's more, Perkins is acting like moving on from Bickerstaff wasn't the obvious right thing to do. Kenny Atkinson came in, took the same roster that Bickerstaff had, and led them to 64 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. If Mitchell told the organization "I want you to move on from JB and hire someone else" he was proven right. The Cavaliers are a much better team now.
It's not clear exactly what Perkins thinks Mitchell did wrong here. He was wrong to re-sign with the team? He was wrong to say something after the game when he was asked a question by a reporter? He was wrong for being on a team that lost key players to injury against a tough opponent? Mitchell played hard, put up numbers and didn't make it to the Conference Finals.
Perkins made it to the Conference Finals a number of times in his career -- because he was carried along on the coattails of others. He played in nine postseasons and was a massive negative when on the court in seven of them. He was a nightmare on the Cavaliers in 2015.
Whether it's morbid curiosity or something else, people tune in to listen to Kendrick Perkins say things about the NBA. He fired off at Mitchell, sounding like an ill-informed, grumpy former player who needs to find something to say to stay relevant.
There are plenty of things to say about Mitchell and the Cavaliers' failure to make it deep into the playoffs. Whatever blathering commentary Perkins provided missed the mark entirely.