And yet Perkins wasn’t surprised.
After turning down a four-year, $30 million extension offer from the Celtics in early February, Perkins knew his future with the team could be limited. The Celtics began exploring trades for their center during All-Star weekend, league sources said, and eventually completed a deal with the Thunder on deadline day.
Kendrick Perkins turned down a four-year, $30 million extension with the Celtics.
(NBAE/Getty Images)
(NBAE/Getty Images)
Perkins went from a veteran championship contender that had come within a game of winning its second title in three years to a young team that – with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading the way – seems poised to contend for many years to come. In his three weeks with the Thunder, Perkins has experienced the same level of professionalism he was accustomed to in Boston. And as much as he loved playing in Boston, the pace of Oklahoma City is much closer to that of his native Beaumont, Texas.
If Perkins had any concerns about his future with the Thunder, they disappeared when the team gave him a four-year, $36 million extension before he’d even played in a single game.
“I feel like I was wanted – and that’s a good thing,” Perkins said. “You always want to be at a place where somebody wants you.
“It’s just like being at home in Texas. There are a lot of similarities as far as the weather, the food, the people. The people have been extremely friendly. You don’t have to worry about a horn being blown at you and five seconds later there is a red light.”
Perkins’ teammates were disappointed to see him leave, and Celtics general manager Danny Ainge has spent the weeks since trying to explain the trade by citing Perkins’ injury history and contract concerns. Perkins hasn’t taken Ainge’s comments personally because he always knew it would be difficult for Boston to keep him, given the money it had already committed to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.
Perkins continues to speak with Rondo daily and has kept up with his other former teammates, head coach Doc Rivers and Ainge through text messages.
“Sometimes when you do something wrong, sometimes you have to find a reason to cover it up – they don’t want to make themselves look bad,” Perkins said. “But at the end of the day, I’m happy where I’m at. Obviously, they didn’t want to spend some money on someone else big.
“I don’t wish bad on them. I want them to have great years in Boston. I think it’s going to be OK on both ends. There is no bad blood.”
Oklahoma City’s need for size and an interior defensive presence was no secret. Perkins is considered one of the NBA’s top defensive centers. No one doubts his toughness, and his lengthy playoff experience is valued on a team where many of the players have appeared in just one postseason series.
“The thing that I like is he’s been on a championship team,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “It’s very difficult to get there. He knows the steps. One day, hopefully, he can be one of the pieces to get us there.”
Perkins is glad he won’t have to test free agency while the league is trying to negotiate a new labor agreement. By signing an extension with the Thunder, he assured himself some financial stability.
“It relieves a lot of stress off your shoulders,” he said. “You don’t want to wake up every day thinking about that or where you might be.”
Perkins also is getting closer to making his debut for the Thunder. He’s been sidelined by a left knee sprain he sustained shortly before the trade, but hopes to be back on the court for Wednesday’s game in Miami.
“You’re always a little nervous coming to a new situation, a new team,” Perkins said. “I’d be lying to you – everyone would be lying to you if they said they weren’t nervous in their first game.”
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