Kendrick Perkins Is Unmoved By Bradley Beal Clippers Signing

Bradley Beal was among the highest earners in the NBA over the past couple of years. He was also one of only two NBA players with a no-trade clause in his contract – the other being LeBron James. However, the trade that Phoenix enacted to bring him to Arizona did not go as well as they wanted it to. They failed to win a single playoff game in 2024 and didn’t even make the play-in with Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers went seven games in their series against Denver this year. But their exit, a blowout loss at Ball Arena, proved that Kawhi Leonard is no longer the guy to take teams deep in the playoffs at the age of 34 and beyond. The 2014 and 2019 NBA Finals MVP was on track to be really great in the 2023 playoffs, and then the 2024 playoffs, but injuries have fully taken their toll on his knees.

The Clippers are seemingly stuck in NBA purgatory. Despite missing Kawhi Leonard for long stretches, they were above .500 last year and looked good value for money to be playoff threats. Now, by adding Bradley Beal to their roster, they hope to give Kawhi another ballhandler and someone who can be a big scorer. However, most people are now out on Beal as a viable star on the offensive end.

Kendrick Perkins explained why the Beal signing is inspiring no faith in the Clippers on First Take today:

Nothing. I mean, I’m just being real here. We were talking about, maybe four years ago, we had Bradley Beal in the conversation with the likes of a Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell when it comes down to the 2 guard position. But when you look at the Clippers, and you look at who they have. They’re not doing anything but getting older.

He then compared what the Clippers have done with their roster this offseason to other teams around the league:

The teams that are trying to go get it, they have youth. They have athleticism. They have depth at the wing position that can play both ways. The Clippers don’t have that.