Kendrick Perkins-2003 draft preview

[london sonic]

Just thought I'd add some info on our new addition maybe you guys can compare to our current crop of center prospects.

Kendrick Perkins — Clifton J. Ozen HS (Beaumont, Texas)
Height: 6-10 Weight: 285 Last season's stats: 27.5 ppg, 16.4 rpg

By Kelly West, AP

Notes: An early entry. ... Known in some circles as ''Baby Shaq.'' ... Has a powerful build and feathery touch around the basket. ... Has no desire to play on the perimeter. ... Possesses a better shooting touch than Shaquille O'Neal had when he was in high school.

OVERVIEW: Perkins signed with the University of Memphis out of high school, but decided to enter the draft after an impressive high school career at Ozen High School in Beaumont, Texas. Ozen captured the state title in Perkins' sophomore season and lost in the championship game in his junior and senior seasons. Perkins averaged 27.5 points, 16.4 rebounds and 7.4 blocks this past season as Ozen went 33-1, losing to Fort Worth Dunbar in the championship. Perkins collected 18 points and 13 rebounds in the title contest. Perkins scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in 12 minutes at the McDonald's All-American game.

LIKELY DRAFT POSITION: Second round. Perkins shocked quite a few observers by staying in the draft. Many believed the early entry candidate would elect to attend the University of Memphis if he was projected as a second-round selection. Perkins has not worked out for many NBA teams and unwisely skipped the Chicago pre-draft camp, so few clubs have inspected him firsthand. San Antonio (28) would be the most likely organization to draft Perkins in the first round.

COMPARATIVE UPSIDE: Eddy Curry, Jamaal Magloire COMPARATIVE DOWNSIDE: Isaac Austin

ROLE PROJECTION: Reserve.

POSITIVES: Perkins has soft hands and is fundamentally sound with his back to the basket. He shows nice touch on his release, extends over the top of his defender to score and nicely establishes position in the lane. Perkins is not muscular, but he has a broad, physical frame. His short neck and long wingspan allow him to play bigger than his listed height.

SHORTCOMINGS: Athletically, Perkins is lacking and has a reputation for coasting on the court. He seems to take plays off, and that will get you in the doghouse of an NBA coach. Perkins has the potential to be an NBA starter, but whether he ever becomes one will depend on how committed he is to improving.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "Why would you do that (remain in the draft)? But if he wants to, I'll support him. I'll support him in whatever he does." — University of Memphis coach John Calipari in the Memphis Commercial Appeal

[london sonic]

COLE ALDRICH 2010 DRAFT PREVIEW
Strengths
A shade under 7-feet tall, Cole Aldrich is one of the true centers entering the 2010 Draft. Aldrich was a force on the defensive side of the floor for Kansas by averaging 3.5 blocked shots. Statistically, Aldrich enjoyed his best season in 2008 following the Jayhawks National Championship year. He uses a long wingspan to irritate opposing players driving the lane and grabs double-digit boards on a nightly basis. Offensively, Aldrich likes to set up on the blocks, establish low-post position and finish with a right jump hook. When Aldrich receives double team pressure, he remains patient before snapping an on-target pass on the perimeter to open shooters. In most cases, the big man does an above average job at sealing his defender to provide an easy target for the guards throwing an entry pass into the paint.

By Jonah Ballow

Weaknesses
Aldrich was a sure-fire lottery pick last season but decided to return for a shot at the national title. His numbers regressed in the junior campaign but he was surrounded by a more talented cast of players. NBA teams might be concerned with Aldrich's lack of athleticism and explosiveness around the rim. He does not overwhelm opponents with quickness as he mainly relies on instincts. Aldrich rarely steps outside the paint for a face-up jumper while his shooting mechanics are a bit awkward, resembling former Bulls center Bill Cartwright. The hope for a lottery team that selects Aldrich is that he develops a mean streak to dominate on the offensive side of the floor.


His Game Resembles - KENDRICK PERKINS/JOEL PRZYBILLA
By Jonah Ballow

[london sonic]

BJ MULLEN 2009 DRAFT PREVIEW
BJ Mullens:
Draft Express profile

How he got here: BJ hails from the Columbus suburb of Canal Winchester, where he became a Buckeye hoops folk legend when he verbally committed to Ohio State after the 8th grade. Buckeye Nation watched his rise to the Rival’s #1 rated high school senior upon entering college, but quickly realized he had little interest in playing college ball en route to the NBA. Though he failed to make any All-Conference team, he felt he was ready for the league.

Strengths: BJ does have good footwork, soft hands and runs the floor well. At times, Ohio State may not run the most post friendly offense, but when given the chance, BJ flashed some controlled footwork in the low block and soft hands on entry passes. Mullens’ ability to run the floor is his best skill right now and this attribute may allow him to see the court as a rookie, but he also has good range on his jumper and this could be his meal ticket to a long career.

Weaknesses: Mullens has a lot to learn, but lack of strength and tenacity were his most glaring weaknesses this past season. BJ consistently had difficulty gaining post position on the block, getting pushed out of the lane by smaller defenders and rarely showing any aggressiveness to change the situation. Critics have blamed his 20 minutes and 5.7 shots attempts per game on Thad Matta, but BJ never earned more playing time and checked out early, scoring in double figures just 6 times in the last 12 games and logging only 39 minutes in 3 Big Ten Tournament games. He totaled 9 assists all season.

What (if any) current player he reminds you of: I don’t think it’s fair to compare BJ to anyone quite yet, he simply hasn’t earned it. He claimed a few weeks ago his game possesses some skills similar to Garnett, Stoudamire and Nowitski, but until he proves it on the court, I’m not buying it.

[london sonic]

SERGE IBAKA 2008 DRAFT PREVIEW
Scouting Report: A long, athletic, young African big man.


Strengths: Tons of potential/upside – won’t turn 19-years-old until later this summer. Incredible leaper – can jump out of the gym – reportedly has a vertical over 40 inches. Great length – huge wingspan. Terrific at blocking and altering shots. Nice stroke on his jumper for a big man – even hits an occasional three-pointer. Great rebounder – really crashes the glass, especially offensively.

Weaknesses: Very inexperienced. Doesn’t even play in the top league in Spain. Needs to get bigger and stronger for the pounding of the NBA. Game is still very raw – needs lots of work. Offensive game often consists of throwing a shot up and crashing the glass after it. Horrible at drawing fouls – shot just over two free throws a game this year.

[london sonic]

TIBOR PLEISS
Pleiss displayed pretty good defensive awareness. At 235 pounds well distributed in his frame, he exposes athleticism but lacks force. If he came to the NBA right away, Pleiss would have been a crash dummy by a while, being bullied by almost every big man in the league which in the end made Presti’s decision to keep him in Europe wise.

Pleiss is very versatile which makes him capable to rotate affectively. He showed some shot blocking skills, protect the perimeter well but his lack of force impacts his back-to-the-basket defense, making his rim protection soft. He also seemed a little bit lost in movement when Turkey spread it out and passed the ball around for a couple of sets.

Pleiss’ length and his activity inside the paint should make him a high volume rebounder on a per minute basis. He is very interested setting picks, which sometimes you don’t get with young prospects, meaning he already understands his role and the importance of it. He’s flexible and agile which indicates he should develop into a very affective pick-and-roll player. But Pleiss still lacks touch and his post moves are still pretty pedestrian. He’s a raw offensive player. There’s a lot of room and time to grow, though.

Defending the Brose Baskets of Bamberg in the 2009-2010 Eurocup, Pleiss logged solid 17.6 MPG in twelve games and averaged 8.3 PPG & 5.7 RPG. He’s already a very good finisher around the rim and his 52.1% FG & 57% TS express that. A 21.9 PER & exceptional 13.3 RP40MP project how efficient he can be on a per minute basis.

Although evaluating such a small sample, one concludes Pleiss will, in fact, end up being a steal for the Thunder. There’s a lot to work with and he projects to be a dynamic presence inside the paint. Whether he can develop into a low post presence, somebody they’ll be able to isolate for and let him go to work, remains to be seen and that’s the reason for the question mark on the title of this post.

Watching Pleiss reminded me a lot of Cole Aldrich. They seem to be similar players which is mind boggling. Oklahoma City’s time is coming and their rise to the top doesn’t rely on them boosting their core year after year but on the pieces that are already in place evolving into contributors at a top tier level.

[Balkman32]

I dont think you can compare Perkins from 8 years ago to the guys we drafted in the past 18 months. Perk has won a championship while these other guys havent started a game yet (other than Ibaka).

Perk is really going to help Aldrich. I think they go about the game is the same style. I really like the move to go out and get a center who is defensive minded. As we can see with the past three losses.

[Devilanche]

Kendrick Perkins — Possesses a better shooting touch than Shaquille O'Neal had when he was in high school.

POSITIVES: Perkins has soft hands and is fundamentally sound with his back to the basket. He shows nice touch on his release, extends over the top of his defender to score and nicely establishes position in the lane. Perkins is not muscular, but he has a broad, physical frame. His short neck and long wingspan allow him to play bigger than his listed height.

Really? I know he came out from high school but a nice soft touch went to bricks for hand according to the Boston forum. I know some skills don't translate well but I thought this one would. Unless he regressed/ignore this part of his game with the big 3 around.

[TheOGJabroni]

I love Perkins as much as the next guy but a lot of that is just horrendously false

You guys got a terrific player but for your sake, disregard that scouting report.

[allenjerome]

Initially I will say I've seen Perk play all 8 years in Boston, having been a fan since 1962 at the tender age of 10 y/o. I didn't realize he was discouraged from entering the draft. Anyway, his upside is as a minutes eater; and I'm not certain that is worth a $34mil contract. He will always work hard (contrary to one of the concerns in the scouting report) but from a basketball skill standpoint will not give you much. He does, however, provide a presence...ironically he and Nazr had a nose to nose meeting a couple of weeks ago when the C's played at Charlotte. I'm sure they''ll laugh it off just as he and Garnett laughed off an incident at the tail end of the '06-'07 season when each expressed that the other wasn't "****" on the court. Then KG comes to Boston the next year. So at the least your team will not be pushed around.

In his defense I will say there was a very small stretch in January, 2009 when it seemed he finally "got it" offensively. For about a two week period he was hitting bank shots, jump hooks and actually fighting for offensive rebounds. After about two weeks he regressed back to fumbling passes, turning and running back up court before rebounds game off the rim and shooting jump hooks that hit the underside of the rim.

Kobe recently made some complimentary comments about Perk; what he didn't mention is that not only did they not have to guard him, but Bynum outplayed him last year through six games on one leg.

Here are his stats from the 2008 finals. He separated his should in game four, hence the dnp in game 5. By the way, they were down 24 points in game 4.....down about 20 when he left. As soon as he left the game they were able to spread the floor (Posey at the 4, KG at the Five, PJ Brown also), got back into it, and ultimately won to go up 3 - 1. Locally, we all knew that because of his offensive limitations, if he stayed in the game the comeback would have been damn near impossible.



Game Min Reb Points Blocked Shots

1 23:01 4 1 1
2 13:41 0 7 0
3 28:27 6 8 2
4 13:15 1 2 1
5 DNP
6 13:25 4 2 1

[slick_watts]

I don't think Perkins will be asked to do anything he can't do. He'll be asked to defend post players on an island, rebound the ball some, play some help defense, and generally be a deterrent in the paint. I think those are things he can accomplish and be successful with. He's not a talented offensive player, no, but he will be better than Krstic at setting screens to free up Kevin Durant. That's an important aspect of our offense that is missed in the starting lineup and only realized pre-trade when Nick Collison would enter the game.

There will be some spacing issues if Thabo Sefolosha is kept in the starting lineup, but hopefully Brooks figures that out. Perkins isn't the perfect fit for the Thunder, but he does a lot of what we need from the center position.

[dream_catcher_9]

Initially I will say I've seen Perk play all 8 years in Boston, having been a fan since 1962 at the tender age of 10 y/o. I didn't realize he was discouraged from entering the draft. Anyway, his upside is as a minutes eater; and I'm not certain that is worth a $34mil contract. He will always work hard (contrary to one of the concerns in the scouting report) but from a basketball skill standpoint will not give you much. He does, however, provide a presence...ironically he and Nazr had a nose to nose meeting a couple of weeks ago when the C's played at Charlotte. I'm sure they''ll laugh it off just as he and Garnett laughed off an incident at the tail end of the '06-'07 season when each expressed that the other wasn't "****" on the court. Then KG comes to Boston the next year. So at the least your team will not be pushed around.

In his defense I will say there was a very small stretch in January, 2009 when it seemed he finally "got it" offensively. For about a two week period he was hitting bank shots, jump hooks and actually fighting for offensive rebounds. After about two weeks he regressed back to fumbling passes, turning and running back up court before rebounds game off the rim and shooting jump hooks that hit the underside of the rim.

Kobe recently made some complimentary comments about Perk; what he didn't mention is that not only did they not have to guard him, but Bynum outplayed him last year through six games on one leg.

Here are his stats from the 2008 finals. He separated his should in game four, hence the dnp in game 5. By the way, they were down 24 points in game 4.....down about 20 when he left. As soon as he left the game they were able to spread the floor (Posey at the 4, KG at the Five, PJ Brown also), got back into it, and ultimately won to go up 3 - 1. Locally, we all knew that because of his offensive limitations, if he stayed in the game the comeback would have been damn near impossible.



Game Min Reb Points Blocked Shots

1 23:01 4 1 1
2 13:41 0 7 0
3 28:27 6 8 2
4 13:15 1 2 1
5 DNP
6 13:25 4 2 1

looks like you are still bitter about the trade. In the 2010 Finals which is more recent, LA out rebounded Boston by + 6 in the 4 games Perk played. In the 2 games he didn't play LA out rebounded Boston by +26. If he was able to play in those games I think Boston could have beat LA last year.

Also in the games that both Perk and Bynum played these were their numbers #'s......

Perkins: 27 MPG, 7.0 PPG, 6.8 RPG 60% from the field
Bynum: 28 MPG, 9.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG 51% from the field

[Bluewhale]

As a Celtics fan watch Perkins for his whole career. Here is my 2 cents.

Dont believe EVERYTHING about Perkins is a good low post threat.

Maybe Perkins scored a lot in high school, but he really struggle to put the ball into the basket in NBA.

Perkins is nothing close to Curry in offense at all. Actually, Perkins could be one of the WORST offense center in the league.

In the defense end, Perk is among the BEST.

[slick_watts]

I think we know what we've got with Perkins, and the team won't expect anything from him he can't do.

It's funny that some Boston fans are saying Green might be an All Star for them. Oh boy...

[dream_catcher_9]

I think we know what we've got with Perkins, and the team won't expect anything from him he can't do.

It's funny that some Boston fans are saying Green might be an All Star for them. Oh boy...

Green is still young enough that he isn't fully developed. I don't think he ever makes and all-star appearance, but he has the talent to.

[dream_catcher_9]

As a Celtics fan watch Perkins for his whole career. Here is my 2 cents.

Dont believe EVERYTHING about Perkins is a good low post threat.

Maybe Perkins scored a lot in high school, but he really struggle to put the ball into the basket in NBA.

Perkins is nothing close to Curry in offense at all. Actually, Perkins could be one of the WORST offense center in the league.

In the defense end, Perk is among the BEST.

thanks for the scouting report. I think OKC signed him just for his defense, toughness and character. He probably is one of the worst offensive centers though, maybe he can get some garbage buckets with Westbrook penetrating.

[slick_watts]

Perkins is one of the worst scoring centers in the league but he'll have a lot of value to us as a screen setter. Krstic set the worst screens...

[MrWHYNOT]

The thunder didnt need there Center to be a scorer.. we needed somebody to shut the paint down.. teams were throwing passes inside and getting layups at will all year long.. and that has already come to a stop with Nazr Muhammed making his presence felt.

[MrWHYNOT]

The thunder didnt need there Center to be a scorer.. we needed somebody to shut the paint down.. teams were throwing passes inside and getting layups at will all year long.. and that has already come to a stop with Nazr Muhammed making his presence felt.

[HeartSouloma]

When is Perkins coming off from that injury? I heard he's coming back next week.

[jfs1000d]

If you are not asking him to score you will love him. Great low post defender, length and strength, and doesn't need the ball to play. He isn't a good offensive player. He's very awkward. But, extremely low maintenance.