Kendrick Perkins has never come off the bench for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Since being acquired from the Boston Celtics at the 2011 trade deadline, he has been the team's starting center. For the vast majority of that time, there have been loud, public calls for his demotion. Heading into his 12th year in the league, Perkins knows that the time might have come. The Thunder have a capable replacement in the 21-year-old Steven Adams, and Perkins already found himself sitting on the bench at the end of most games last season. From the Oklahoman's Anthony Slater:
“Ain’t gonna lie, I’m nervous,” Perkins admitted. “I don’t know what it’s gonna be, what the playing time gonna be, whether I’m starting or whether I’m coming off the bench.”
…
“To me, it really don’t even matter,” Perkins said of the impending decision. “I just want an opportunity to play, that’s it. Since I’ve been here, the only thing I’ve been trying to embrace on the whole organization and the young guys is just how to win. Since I’ve been here, that’s all I’ve been doing.”
…
“Like I told y’all at Media Day, I started all the games last year that I played in and didn’t play in nearly enough of the fourth quarters that I wanted to play in,” he said. “So that really was my goal coming into this year. I wanted to give Coach a reason he should have me in in the fourth. I started last year and a lot of games I was unhappy because I didn’t play in the fourth quarter, probably because I didn’t deserve it. So I want to give him a reason to have me out there in the fourth.”
This is a contract year for the 29-year-old Perkins, and his value has never been lower. When he met reporters after Oklahoma City was eliminated in the conference finals in early June, he said that the offseason would be the biggest of his career. He wanted to arrive in training camp in better shape and play like he did in Boston. Unfortunately for Perkins, a quad injury kept him sidelined for all of the preseason, while Adams averaged 12.7 points and 6.9 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game with a ridiculous PER of 25.2.
Adams' play means it would be a genuine surprise if Thunder head coach Scott Brooks elected to reinsert Perkins into the starting lineup. Brooks has been a huge Perkins supporter over the years, but I can't imagine how he'd justify it now. If the veteran does indeed have to make the move to the bench, it's obviously going to be an adjustment. Judging by his quotes, though, he at least seems ready to accept it.
