On the same day that the Warriors officially signed Zaza Pachulia to a 1 year deal worth $2.9 million, rumors are circulating that they’re interested in acquiring another center.
Larry Sanders has made it well known via Twitter that he wants to return to the NBA as either a member of the Warriors or Cavaliers, but another name has been added to the list of potential Warriors.
According to Alex Kennedy, the Warriors are interested in adding Kendrick Perkins to the mix. This is especially notable because Perkins was a teammate of Kevin Durant’s in Oklahoma City from 2011-2015, and they remain close friends.
The Warriors have expressed interest in free agent Kendrick Perkins, per sources. Perkins is, of course, close friends with Kevin Durant.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) July 8, 2016
While Perkins isn’t the most skilled big man, he can still provide size and toughness in the interior with his 6’10’’, 270 LBS frame.
It seems like Perkins has been in the league forever at this point, but he’ll only turn 32 during next season. He has been a solid contributor to successful teams in the past, and given the Warriors’ roster as of now, he’d likely be asked to only provide short spurts off the bench.
The limited playing time is an important thing to stress, because Perkins ranked 4th to last among qualified players last season in Player Efficiency Rating. That included the unfortunate distinction of being the lowest rated qualifying center in the NBA.
Having said that, the Warriors aren’t in a position to be picky with the remaining players they sign to fill up their roster. They’ll have to sort through veterans looking to take a discount to join a formidable team.
Perkins doesn’t have much upside beyond just being sturdy presence inside, and a Sanders signing would be more risky, yet the payoff could be huge if Sanders is in a healthy place mentally and emotionally.
Sanders was looking like a premier rim protector before he left that NBA, and he could give the Warriors a shot blocking source that they currently don’t have on the roster.
Perkins can bring an enforcer’s mentality as his biggest asset, along with his friendship with Durant.
If the Warriors have a choice in this matter, they should go for Sanders. It’s a low risk, high reward situation with Sanders, because they wouldn’t be asking him to take on huge responsibility.
Perkins is a safer choice, but he also doesn’t offer the skills that Sanders can provide. Given the role, it’s not a crucial transaction decision that will leave major repercussions to how this team operates, but Sanders is intriguing enough to be worth taking a chance on.