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John Wall officially announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday, dropping the curtain on an impressive 11-year career. Deciding to retire is always a difficult decision for an athlete, and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins revealed on the Road Trippin' podcast that he struggled with depression for over a year after walking away. "I know how hard it is to retire when you retire not on your terms," Perkins said. "When you retire because that damn phone stop ringing... It’s the hardest thing in the world. I went through a depression for about a year and a half, but when you finally walk away from the game and announce your retirement, it’s so difficult."
Perkins believes it will be very hard for someone like his former teammate LeBron James to walk away from basketball. He added that James will at least get to do it on his own terms, unlike him. "That s*** sends you into a f***ing depression," Perkins said. "I didn't want to go outside. You know why? Because I didn’t want to go outside and go places where people would be like, ‘Oh, Perk, who are you with now?' [I'd say], ‘Uh, nobody. I’m just working out, waiting on a call.’ I ain't want to answer those questions."
Paul Pierce: At some point, it was like a disconnect between the older guys and the younger guys on the team. And then I remember Kendrick Perkins had said something. And all I know, we all was on the plane. All the coaches was off the bus, ’cause we was all trying to clear the air. And Perk said something that turned on another switch of evil in KG. And I'm sitting here, Perk is right there, and Kevin is walking over to get in his face. And I thought he was going to kill Perk—for real kill him, like un-alive him. I saw it in his eyes. It was just the most intense moment, we had to get in between them. And I’ve been around KG for a long time, but I never seen this look. I thought he was really going to kill Perk with his bare hands, ’cause you saw Kevin was hurt and going through it, ’cause he couldn’t play right now. And then Perk—I forget what he exactly said—but it was something that shouldn’t have been said. And he would’ve un-alived him if we didn’t jump in the middle of that.
Kendrick Perkins says he got death threats after he tabbed Khris Middleton as Bucks' Batman over Giannis Antetokounmpo
Former NBA big man and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins says a 2021 debate over the Milwaukee Bucks turned frightening when he and his family were targeted with death threats over his Bucks take. On the Road Trippin’ podcast, Perkins recalled the 2021 NBA Finals between the Bucks and Phoenix Suns. At the time, he publicly backed Khris Middleton as “Batman” over two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The take was standard sports television fare. But Perkins said it sparked something far more serious off the air. “I started getting a death threat,” Perkins said. “It was going to my wife’s account. This dude was sending me threat after threat. ‘I am going to kill your kids; I know where you stay. I am going to murder you.’ This was real life.”
In the process of disagreeing with a recent Washington Post column arguing for Bill Russell as the best player in NBA history because of what he faced off the court, Kendrick Perkins took things a step further on the latest episode of Road Trippin’. Rather than simply argue that off-court challenges should not factor into a player’s greatness or that someone like Michael Jordan still accomplished enough on the court to supersede Russell’s historic racial advocacy, Perkins took Russell down a peg by comparing his strength in the face of racism to modern players dealing with haters on social media.
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“I would never take what the guys, Bill Russells, and what they had to go through for us to be able to perform at a high level … or even be in the NBA, for the NBA to even exist. I wasn’t there,” Perkins said on his Road Trippin’ podcast. “But I will say everyone’s had their own form of adversity. Back then, it was racism and death threats. But having to battle through the adversity of f*cking social media as a player elevates right up into there, when you talk about mental toughness.”
Kendrick Perkins: Mine was the trade that didn’t happen—late in my career. I’m playing for the Pelicans, and it probably cost me a championship, to be honest. Either way, it did. I was backing up Alexis [Ajinça], veteran presence in the locker room. This is when I developed relationships with Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, etc. We weren’t winning s*** at the time. Dell Demps—by the way, I don’t have a lot of people I hate. I despise him. I wish the worst for him in a basketball sense. I’m not afraid to say it. I’d tell him to his face. I can’t stand that m**********. He’s a liar. He’s lied to so many people. He’s a snake. I hate him.
Kendrick Perkins: At the trade deadline, I get a text from Bron: “Hey, we about to come get you.” Matter of fact, I’m lying. Bron came to New Orleans. He tells me, “We’re about to come get you. We want you on the team, on the bench.” I’m like, “Cool.” Then KD texts me: “Hey Perk, we want you in OKC.” Both teams trying to trade for me. Cleveland offered a second-round pick. This is the year they won the title. Also the year OKC blew the 3–1 lead to Golden State. Dell Demps comes to me and says, “We’re not trading you, Perk. We want you here for our locker room. You’re going to retire a Pelican.” I said, “Okay. So you’re telling me…” He says, “Yeah. We want you here the next two years. Retire here. We’ve got a plan.” I’m like, “Oh, s***.” Two more years. Cool. At that point, I didn’t know where my career was going. Once you’re on vet minimum, you get stuck on vet minimum. So he turns down both teams. End of the season, he says, “I’mma knock these moves out and we’ll get you straight.”
Kendrick Perkins: Then the Rockets reach out. Daryl Morey calls me: “Hey Perk, James [Harden] wants you on the bench. We got a vet minimum for you in Houston, your hometown.” I turned it down because I’d already given my word to Dell. Thought it was the right thing to do. Then they sign Nene. As soon as I turned it down, next thing I know—they sign Nene. Summer goes on. I’m watching other guys sign deals. I don’t hear from Dell Demps. I contact him in August: “Hey D, what we doing?” He calls me and says, “Yeah, after rethinking some things, we think it’s best to let the young guys roll and not bring you back.” I’m like, “What the f***?” I cussed his ass out on the phone. Hung up. Truth is—I had no more options. That year, I was out of the league. No job. You possibly cost me a championship. I turned down actual offers. The Rockets contacted me the first week of free agency: “We got a vet minimum for you. Stay in Houston.” Next year? Nothing. No job.
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Kendrick Perkins: I’m not blaming Dell Demps for the direction of my entire NBA career. But he played a huge f***ing part. He took one or two years off my career. I could’ve been on a bench clapping 1,500 times a season. Instead, he shortened my career—by being a snake and lying. I’ve told this story before. I’ll tell it again. I can’t stand him. He knows it. I saw him in Minnesota—he works in the front office there—and he couldn’t even look me in the eye.
Blake Griffin: 'Kendrick Perkins deleted his Twitter after I dunked on him. I think that should be on my résumé'
Do you ever feel bad after a poster? Blake Griffin: No. Host: You never felt bad one time? Blake Griffin: Never. Host: What if a guy’s wife was there? Blake Griffin: She shouldn’t have been there. Host: What if his mom just died or something? Blake Griffin: Well, that’s sad. Yeah. But I don’t feel bad for the dunk. I feel bad that he just lost the matriarch of his family. Host: What if he cried, hypothetically? Has someone ever cried? Blake Griffin: I don’t know, but Kendrick Perkins deleted his Twitter after I dunked on him. That’s like— I think that should be on my résumé.
Kendrick Perkins: The Philadelphia 76ers are nowhere in hell. I believe Joel Embiid is going to come back on a revenge tour. I believe so. This is going to be a revenge season for Joel Embiid. I believe he's going to come back on a mission. Well, he should. He should because him and Paul George are probably, in my opinion, not probably, they are. When it comes to pressure, they're the top two for as most pressure in the NBA to get something done. Nobody wants to hear nothing else. You got to get it done. You got to get that sh*t done. Period. No other way around it. Conference Finals minimum with that big three with Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and Joel Embiid.
Kendrick Perkins: Do I think Memphis overpaid for Jaren Jackson Jr.? Absolutely they did. But we here now. We here now. Next they going to have to pay Ja Morant, right? So if Jaren Jackson Jr. got 240, Ja probably going to get close to 300. Okay. So you pay for those two. Can those two take you to a championship? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And I believe Ja is one of one. I'm just not a believer in Jaren Jackson Jr. But he could prove me wrong. He could prove me wrong.
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