When everyone else has zigged, Kendrick Perkins has zagged.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently said he wants the league’s media partners to “celebrate” the game of basketball more. But it’s safe to say Silver didn’t mean praising the most controversial executive in the sport. We don’t know if Perkins took Silver’s message to heart, but he definitely found someone to celebrate.
Just not Luka Dončić.
While lamenting the Los Angeles Lakers falling behind 3-1 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first round playoff series, Perkins took the opportunity to give props to Anthony Edwards, and, oddly enough, to Mavericks GM Nico Harrison.
Yes, that Nico Harrison.
The same Harrison that Awful Announcing’s Sean Keeley recently suggested should probably stop talking. The same Harrison Charles Barkley said should just shut up. (Barkley, who once called Perkins a “roach” on live TV, might have similar thoughts about this latest take.)
Perkins, of course, has had his moments. He’s been vindicated before, especially when calling out Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal for not watching the games they talk about. But backing Harrison? Even for Perkins, that’s an ambitious leap of faith.
Dončić, now just a year removed from dragging a flawed Mavericks roster to the NBA Finals, is only four games into another playoff run. Yet Perkins is already handing out retroactive validation for a blockbuster trade that was widely panned when it happened.
Perkins claims to see Harrison’s vision, even if Harrison hasn’t explained what that vision actually is, beyond some vague nods to “defense wins championships.”
What Perkins does see is a week where Anthony Edwards outshined Dončić in a head-to-head matchup.
That’s enough, apparently, to justify a victory lap.
“Watching the fourth quarter — the second half — the fourth quarter, in particular, I saw what Nico Harrison was talking about,” Perkins said. “When it comes down to the reason why he traded Luka. He traded Luka because he felt that the Dallas Mavericks would not be able to win a championship with Luka — we all know this. I didn’t feel that way watching the game, looking at Anthony Edwards. I’m saying to myself, Anthony Edwards is going to win a championship before Luka Dončić. Anthony Edwards is built different. Anthony Edwards is a better all-around basketball player than Luka Dončić.”
Kendrick Perkins says he sees Nico Harrison’s vision
“Anthony Edwards is going to win a championship before Luka Doncic. Anthony Edwards is built different. [Ant] is a better all-around basketball player than Luka Doncic.”
(h/t @ClutchPoints )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 28, 2025
Maybe Perkins really does see the big picture, but what does Anthony Edwards have to do with Nico Harrison trading a 25-year-old superstar for below market value when no one else even knew he was available to be had?
