Kendrick Perkins is ready to return to the NBA.
The veteran center told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he wants to be a backup in the league again and thinks he can help a team.
“The body feels good, man, I’m just sitting here waiting on an opportunity,” Perkins said. “Hopefully I can get a training camp invite soon. I want to earn my way. I don’t want nobody to give me nothing. So I’ve been working hard, going two or three times a day, working and grinding. I’m just trying to stay with it.”
Perkins said the year off allowed him to feel healthier, but gave him important perspective as he was away from the game.
“You’re sitting back, waiting on a job, you want in and not just sitting around the house. I wasn’t ready for that in that point in my life,” he said. “I think it was a very humbling situation for me. I thought it made me realize the importance and not to take it for granted.”
Perkins got a bit of interest last summer, but obviously nothing came of it. He was a very effective center once upon a time, but at age 32 with a torn ACL to his name, it’s not clear how much he has left.
