Dray points out the brutal irony of Perk claiming that Kawhi should retire originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Draymond Green did not hold back his criticism of ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins’ suggestion that Kawhi Leonard retire from the NBA.
The Golden State superstar called Perkins on “The Draymond Green Show“to say that Leonard should hang it up because recurring knee injuries.
“The moment was Kendrick Perkins telling Kawhi Leonard he had to retire,” Green told Davis. “I was shocked when I heard him say that because I just think as an athlete, to know that a guy that people questioned if he cheated the game.
“But clearly, when you look at this, this is what happened over time. The man didn’t cheat the game, he improved from the time he came into the NBA, he improved everything: ball handling, shooting, you name it. And he started getting hurt, won championships, wasn’t the healthiest guy. People are asking whether he really faked or not, and clearly the man didn’t.”
Leonard drew the anger of many around the league for his approach, sitting out games to rest his body and manage recurring injuries. Since signing with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019, Leonard has yet to fit for an entire 82-game regular season.
Now that the 33-year-old is missing more games because of his knee problems, Perkins and others have questioned whether he should consider retiring, something that doesn’t sit well with Green.
“To hear Perk say, ‘Yeah, he’s got to retire, he’s got to think about retiring,’ I thought that was crazy,” Green continued. “Because Perk, his last three years in the NBA, no one pushed him to retire,” and everyone probably should have. The man averaged 2.5 points [per game] for three years in a row and nobody pushed you to retire.
“Boys like it [LeBron James] and [Kevin Durant] actually invited him to their teams, like them [were] a kind of cheerleader for him. And to push this man into retirement, how obviously the man wants to play.”
When healthy, Leonard continues to be one of the elite players in the league, capable of taking over a game through sheer willpower. However, recurring knee problems over the past few seasons have made it difficult for him to stay on the court for any significant length of time.
The small forward remains out indefinitely with knee inflammation and will not begin when the Clippers begin the 2024-25 NBA season on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.
Green respects Leonard’s physical style of play and bristled at the notion that anyone else should be talking about his NBA fate.
The Warriors are scheduled to play the Clippers four times during the 2024-25 season, though it remains to be seen if Leonard will be available for any of those contests. If he isn’t, Green won’t be too broken up about it.
