The Cleveland Cavaliers chose not to re-sign Kendrick Perkins last year, and it sounds like the players on the current roster felt like that was a major mistake. Is LeBron James among them?
In an interview with “The Dan Patrick Show” Thursday, Cleveland.com’s Chris Haynes spoke about how angry Cleveland’s players were when the team chose to replace Perkins with Sasha Kaun.
“They were highly pissed. I knew this for a fact,” Haynes explained, as transcribed by Pro Basketball Talk. “They were highly ticked off, this team, when the team didn’t re-sign Kendrick Perkins and they ended up picking up over the summer Sasha Kaun – a 29-, 30-year-old rookie who has not really played at all and I don’t really think is ready for the NBA.
“Players – I know for a fact, I talked to them – they were highly ticked off about that, not bringing him back. Because it wasn’t about his numbers. It was about the intangibles, the emotional leadership and the enforcer, the enforcement role he brought to the team.”
Haynes noted that Perkins could have been brought back for the veteran’s minimum, while Kaun is making $2 million and has appeared in just 14 games.
Interestingly enough, LeBron and Kyrie Irving both noted on Thursday that the 2015-2016 Cavs lack an “enforcer” in their front court.
The "news" from LeBron: the Cavs don't have an enforcer and he's never won a title without one
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) March 3, 2016
Kyrie Irving just offered the same kind of endorsement for an enforcer. Interesting
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) March 3, 2016
One could interpret that as a swipe at Cleveland’s current front court. It’s not as if Perkins is an All-Star, after all. Is he really the difference between winning a championship and making an early exit in the playoffs?
If you heard what LeBron said about his team recently, you shouldn’t be surprised.
