Draymond Green has never been the type to mince words and he went off on Kendrick Perkins on the latest episode of The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis. Green stated he was pissed off when he heard Perkins suggest that Kawhi Leonard should retire after being ruled out for the start of the 2024-25 season.
“There was a moment on TV that really pissed me off,” Green said. “… The moment was Kendrick Perkins telling Kawhi he need to retire… I was baffled when I heard him say that because I just think as an athlete, to know that a guy who people has questioned whether he’s cheated the game.
“But clearly as you look at this, what has happened over time, the man ain’t cheated the game,” Green stated. “He got better from the time he came into the NBA, he improved everything: Ball handling, shooting, you name it. And he started to get hurt, won championships, hasn’t been the healthiest guy. People question whether he was really faking or whether he’s healthy, clearly the man wasn’t faking.
“To hear Perk say, ‘Yeah, he need to retire, he need to consider retiring,’ I thought that was crazy,” Green continued. “Because Perk last three years in the NBA, nobody was pushing him to retirement, and everybody probably should have. The man averaged 2.5 points for three years straight. Like 2.5, 3.5… And nobody was really pushing you to retire.
“Guys like (LeBron James) and (Kevin Durant) was actually inviting him to the team,” Green added. “He was kind of cheerleading for them. And to push this man to his retirement, like obviously the man want to play.”
In his last three seasons, Perkins averaged 3.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. As Green pointed out, no one was telling him to retire back then and he should refrain from doing that as well.
What made Perkins’ comments sound even more ridiculous to me is the fact that Leonard, who signed a three-year, $152.4 million deal earlier this year, was relatively healthy last season. While the six-time All-Star got injured toward the end of the regular season, he still played 68 games in the campaign.
Leonard’s case is not like that of someone like Lonzo Ball, who had been out with a knee injury for over two years. Had someone suggested that Ball should retire during that time, that would have been understandable, but not in this situation.
Yes, Leonard’s body breaking down as often as it has over the last few years isn’t ideal, but it hasn’t gotten bad enough to the point where he should consider walking away. Despite everything that has happened, the 33-year-old still averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in 2023-24 for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Leonard was rewarded for his efforts with a spot on the All-NBA Second Team and it’s clear he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. I don’t blame him one bit for wanting to keep playing with that being the case.
As for Draymond’s retirement, there’s still a little bit of time for that. Green stated he probably has two years left in the NBA during an appearance on the Club 520 podcast. During a recent interview with Andscape, though, the Golden State Warriors star stated that from a physical standpoint, he doesn’t feel like he’s anywhere near the end. So, Green might end up sticking around for even longer.
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