NBA Rumors: Cavs frontrunners to land Kendrick Perkins?

NBA Rumors — Here’s a surprise (not really): the Clippers have fell behind in another chase for an impending free agent: according to Yahoo Sports, the Cleveland Cavaliers have emerged as the frontrunner to land former Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins.

"The Cleveland Cavaliers have emerged as the strong frontrunners to sign center Kendrick Perkins, league sources told Yahoo Sports.Perkins is leaning toward signing a deal with the Cavaliers, but has yet to make a final commitment, sources said. One significant criteria for Perkins in choosing a team has been the opportunity for playing time. The Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Clippers have interest in signing Perkins, too."

If playing time is the deciding factor in where Perkins plays, this creates an interesting dynamic for Doc Rivers as Perkins would give the Clipper more of what they need (defense, rebounding, leadership, toughness, etc). But by giving Perkins exclusivity to the backup center position, it pushes the largely paid Spencer Hawes into obscurity, and as we’ve seen often in this league, big money means a guy plays no matter in an attempt to justify a poor decision (see: Bargnani, Andrew in New York).

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And there’s this: I could be possibly overthinking the situation, but one can’t help but find it odd that Doc Rivers has been unable to reel a former Celtics player to come play for him in Los Angeles.

Ray Allen doesn’t seem much interested in playing for the Clippers, if any NBA team as many await his expected comeback to the league. Kevin Garnett opted to return to the Minnesota Timberwolves instead of requesting a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets to go play with the coach who led him to his only championship in Los Angeles. This past summer, the Clippers couldn’t get Paul Pierce to bark down on his asking price before opting to sign Spencer Hawes instead (ironically, Pierce signed for the same price eventually in Washington). Now Kendrick Perkins would rather play with LeBron James, something I wouldn’t have guessed in a thousand years, than with Doc and the Clippers.

In the league’s past, we’ve seen players settle for less to play with a familiar face, whether it be a former head coach, former teammate, or former general manager. Instead, the opposite has occurred under Rivers’ regime.

Ah well.

There is this, so all hope may not be lost for the Clippers:

Per Yahoo, the buyout between Perkins and the Utah Jazz could be completed by today meaning Perkins’ decision will be announced near the start of the week.

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