Kendrick Perkins feels he still has some gas left in the tank.
The 32-year-old forward hasn’t played an NBA game this season and is without a team after the New Orleans Pelicans let him walk last summer. But Perkins apparently isn’t ready to retire, telling The Oklahoman on Wednesday he’s gearing up for an NBA comeback.
“I’m still trying to get back in,” Perkins said. “I’ve been working two-a-days over the last couple of months. Just been going hard. Got a couple of calls, just a few teams say they want to start trying me out and working me out before the free agency’s over with. So, just trying to get back in and see what it do. One more push.”
Perkins isn’t exactly the same guy who played 25 minutes a night as the Boston Celtics’ starting center and helped them win an NBA championship in 2008. He averaged just 2.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 37 games for the Pelicans last season and has battled his fair share of injuries.
But the 6-foot-10 big man still is a veteran locker room presence whose teams always have had success: Perkins has reached the playoffs 10 times during his 13 seasons in the league.
Perkins admitted he’d most like to rejoin the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he spent four-plus seasons from 2010 to 2015.
“I feel like I fit (in Oklahoma City),” Perkins said. “It ain’t like I got that many options that I can just pick and choose, but I feel like this would be a good place.”
Or perhaps Perkins could rejoin the Celtics and finish his NBA career where he spent his first eight seasons. Hey, we’re just throwing it out there.
Thumbnail photo via Mark D. Smith/USA TODAY Sports Images
