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Emeka Okafor and Kendrick Perkins are going to the G League
If you’re a traditional big man who can’t shoot 3-pointers or tread water in the deep end of the defensive pool at the 3-point arc, the NBA in the fall of 2017 is a tough place to make a living. That goes double for ground-bound goliaths on the wrong side of 30, and triple for ones for ones trying to break back into the league after a, shall we say, sabbatical. And yet, Emeka Okafor and Kendrick Perkins plan to make a go of it — even if it means taking a developmental detour.
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News on the former came Saturday, from ESPN’s Ian Begley:
Emeka Okafor has agreed to play for the Philadelphia 76ers’ G League team, the Delaware 87ers, in hopes of signing with an NBA team in the coming months, league sources told ESPN.
Okafor, the second overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft, was in training camp with the 76ers before the club waived him on Saturday.
… while word on the latter came Monday from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Free-agent center Kendrick Perkins, a 13-year NBA veteran, has agreed to a deal to join the Cleveland Cavaliers-affiliated Canton Charge of the NBA’s G League, league sources tell ESPN. […]
Perkins had the opportunity to start a coaching career with the Cavaliers, but is determined to return to the league as a player. In a text message on Monday, he told ESPN.com: “I’m serious and I’m committed to this [opportunity]. I will sacrifice to show the NBA.”
Kendrick Perkins is joining the Canton Charge in continued pursuit of an NBA return. "I will make a roster," he tells SI.
— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) October 16, 2017
Both Okafor and Perkins entered the 2017 preseason hoping to catch on with an NBA club after a stint away from NBA employment.
The 35-year-old Okafor, who won Rookie of the Year honors for the Charlotte Bobcats during the 2004-05 season and averaged a double-double in each of his first five NBA seasons, linked up with the 76ers in his latest attempt at mounting a comeback after four years on the shelf due to a herniated disc in his neck. Perkins, 32, was an integral defender and rebounder on the Boston Celtics teams that made the NBA Finals twice in three years, winning the 2007 title. He also served as a veteran tone-setter on perennial playoff teams in Oklahoma City before being traded and waived midway through the 2014-15 season; he sat out last season after playing just 37 games for the New Orleans Pelicans in 2015-16.
Neither made a significant impact in preseason play. Perkins averaged four points and 3.7 rebounds in 12.1 minutes per game over three outings with the Cavs, while Okafor put up 2.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and one block in 8.1 minutes per game over five appearances for the Sixers. Crowded frontcourts in both Philadephia (Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jahlil Okafor, Dario Saric, Amir Johnson, Richaun Holmes) and Cleveland (Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, Jae Crowder, Channing Frye, Jeff Green, Ante Zizic) left no room for the vets to catch on. Presented with the choice to either canvass the NBA for more opportunities, try to hawk their wares overseas (where Aging Non-Shooting Veteran Center With An Injury History isn’t exactly a super attractive commodity, either) or consider making the shift to a coaching career, both Mek and Perk decided to press on in the NBA’s junior circuit.
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They’re far from the first ex-NBA mainstays to make the trip. Plenty of former All-Stars, lottery picks and stalwart starters have bit the bullet and busted it in what was then called the D-League in search of a return ticket to the show. Some — Rasual Butler, Tyrus Thomas, Mike James — have gotten back there. Many, many more — Baron Davis, Antoine Walker, Nate Robinson, Josh Howard, Ben Gordon, Delonte West, Ricky Davis, Tyrus Thomas, Larry Sanders, Greg Ostertag, Rashad McCants, Troy Hudson, Tyler Hansbrough — have not.
This, of course, is to be expected. The competition for NBA roster spots is incredibly fierce, with established NBA-caliber players, undrafted rookies, international talent and D-League/G League pros all scratching and clawing for a precious few top-flight jobs. Sure, veteran leadership means a ton, but you’ve also got to be able to play; if you’re a former NBA player who’s lost a step, who doesn’t have the touch he used to, or has a checkered medical record, and you’re going to be commanding a higher minimum salary than a younger option, you’re fighting an uphill battle.
Credit, then, to Okafor and Perkins — two guys who have cleared tens of millions in NBA salary, who’ve experienced individual and team success, and who would be forgiven for packing it in in the face of what look like pretty long odds of being able to get back to playing a meaningful role on a team of consequence — for deciding to fight. Yes, Okafor and Perkins have NBA bona fides, but going this route means signing up for the stepped-down travel, accommodations and salary, and the cranked-up grind — the full G League experience — with no guarantee of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It’s a leap of faith, one perhaps made out of an unwillingness to accept the state of things, but maybe also one made out of love.
There’s something commendable about being willing to do what it takes to be able to go out on your own terms. There are a lot of players who would be too proud to accept what many would view as a demotion to do it. Maybe neither winds up getting back to the NBA. Maybe, instead, they just deal out a few more shot swats, stiff screens and mean mugs before coming to a realization and walking away. But maybe, in the end, that’s enough.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at devine@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
