Kendrick Perkins Thinks LeBron James Completely Played the Media With Latest Retirement Comments

The comments came shortly after the Lakers forward spoke on his Mind the Game podcast with Steve Nash. He admitted he still has not decided whether he will return to the Lakers, sign elsewhere, or retire altogether.

“I’m still in the moment of just taking my time,” he said. “I haven’t even really thought about it too much.”

Naturally, those comments immediately reignited league-wide discussion about whether the 41-year-old could be preparing for a farewell season.

Perkins, however, does not believe retirement is anywhere close.

“I don’t think LeBron James retires after next year, to be honest,” he said. “I think he got two or three more years left in the tank.”

Considering LeBron is still producing at an elite level, the argument is not difficult to understand. Even in his 23rd NBA season, James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists during the regular season before increasing his scoring output during the playoffs.

Kendrick Perkins Has A Long Strained Relationship With LeBron James 

While we see Kendrick Perkins going after LeBron James from time to time, they have a long history.

According to Perk, his relationship with James has never been the same after he publicly discussed Bronny James during the draft process.

Speaking on the Out The Mud Podcast last year, Perkins admitted that his role as a media analyst has created tension with several former teammates, including LeBron, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook.

“I lost some friends,” he said. “I lost Russ, KD, Bron, had to speak on the sh** though… Bron got mad at me because we were talking about Bronny, about the draft. I really didn’t wanna touch on it, because first of all we shouldn’t be talking about the 55th pick.”

According to him, the breaking point with James Sr. came when he questioned the attention surrounding his son and his selection to the McDonald’s All-American Game.

However, he clarified that he was not trying to attack Bronny personally, but rather speaking from a basketball standpoint.