In his latest appearance on Mark Jackson's podcast on the "Come and Talk 2 Me" network, Kendrick Perkins revealed his side of the story about his apparent ongoing beef with Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James . According to Big Perk, James didn't like that Perkins implied that "The King" had something to do with hiring JJ Redick.
"... Any other time, I've been his biggest advocate and for me to say something on how I feel right when it came down to the JJ Redick hire and Rich Paul coming on saying that Bron had nothing to do with the hire and I'm sitting down here saying stop, stop. It's not an indictment on LeBron," Perkins said.
"All franchise players have something to do with big moves that go on in the organization. Let's not sit here and lie to the public about that. It's the real thing and it's okay. If you didn't want Darvin Ham there and if JJ is y'all guy, just stand on it, that's my biggest thing," Perkins added.
Social media beef
Perkins said he found out James unfollowed him on social media right after he tweeted his thoughts about James' involvement in the Lakers' coaching search this summer. That's why the former NBA player made light of the situation and compared himself to Jesus as he came up with a tweet which he admitted took him two days to think of in response to the news that the four-time champion unfollowed him.
"I'm a follower of Jesus, but everybody didn't follow Jesus, right? So what makes me any different because one guy decided to unfollow me on social media because I went against him maybe twice in my media career," Perkins added.
The news about James unfollowing Perkins on X surprised the NBA community because many knew that the two had a close relationship. As Perkins reiterated, he's one of James' biggest advocates in the media and, until today, doesn't understand why the Lakers superstar is offended by what he said. After all, superstars being involved in the team's decision-making process shouldn't be frowned upon, especially in this player-empowerment era.
"If the organization is making decisions and you're paying a guy 40,60, or 50 million dollars a year, obviously you're going to talk to them about certain situations. I mean, what's wrong with that?"
James wanted no involvement in the Lakers' coaching search
Perhaps the biggest reason James was adamant about not being involved in hiring Redick is that he doesn't want to be blamed if the coach's tenure in Los Angeles doesn't pan out. There's also the fact that James is technically not committed to the Lakers right now, as he still has to decide whether to opt into his current contract or become a free agent this season.
But obviously, it's difficult not to associate James with hiring Redick as most know that they're not only good friends but also co-hosts of the "Mind the Game" podcast. James is just doing what he's done throughout his career, and like everyone else, Perkins isn't buying any of James' antics.
Related: "Any organization he goes to are going to be in his mercy" - Perk on the problems of having LeBron on your team
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