Kendrick Perkins paints depressing picture of ex-teammate LeBron James

No one’s ever accused Kendrick Perkins of failing to speak his mind. On Tuesday, the former NBA player-turned-ESPN-analyst lived up to his reputation by verbally announcing LeBron James is done, at least for this season.

Perkins, who teamed with LeBron on the 2014-15 Cavs, appeared on ESPN’s "Pardon The Interruption" and gave James a less-than-glowing review.

“LeBron James right now has one foot in the grave, the other on a banana peel,” Perkins told "PTI" host Michael Wilbon.

Ouch.

James, 41, is averaging the second-lowest amount of points per game (21.6) in his career. Only his rookie season (20.9 ppg) saw him score less. His 5.6 rebounds are a career low. Although his numbers — which also include seven boards a game — are down, they’re still impressive for a player in his 23rd season, the most all-time. More noticeable is James’ declining athleticism (to be fair, he’s still seemingly in the top .00001 % for athleticism among 41-year-olds on the planet), which has recently seen him miss dunk and shot attempts at the rim that he previously did so effortlessly. Father Time appears to finally be knocking after being unable to locate the James residence for years.

Coincidentally, the Lakers have seemingly mirrored James’ subtle decline. After starting the season 16-5, L.A.’s been mostly uneven, slipping to sixth in the Western Conference standings. They’re 5-5 in their last 10 games. Though the playoffs are a near lock, an early exit seems all but certain. For LeBron, that exit may be twofold. 

“He’s just waiting on the season to be over so he can leave the Lakers,” Perkins added.

If he does in fact leave the Lakers and continues playing, LeBron’ll extend his own record of most NBA seasons played by one player to 24. As remarkable as that would be, it would be even more impressive if he were able to do so with one foot in the grave.