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Kendrick Perkins drops bold take on Wizards’ Anthony Davis that could age poorly appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Kendrick Perkins is willing to put his name behind a bold prediction for Anthony Davis this season. The ESPN analyst addressed the swirling trade rumors surrounding the Wizards big man, encouraging Davis to use the speculation as fuel heading into the year.
“If I’m AD, I’m listening to everything, all the disrespect, listening to a team like the Warriors who could use an Anthony Davis and say that they’re not willing to leverage their future to get AD,” Perkins said in NBA Today. “AD, if you’re watching this, I believe that you’re still one of the best players in the NBA. You’re still, when healthy, an All-NBA, All-Defensive caliber player.”
Perkins went a step further, projecting Davis back into the league’s most exclusive conversation by season’s end.
“I believe that when it’s all said and done at the end of the season, Anthony Davis, we’re gonna mention his name in the MVP conversation,” he said.
The prediction comes amid persistent chatter linking Davis to Golden State as part of a package deal with LeBron James, Davis’ former Lakers teammate. Washington has repeatedly shut down those overtures, with general manager Will Dawkins insisting the team wants Davis to stay and remain a building block alongside Trae Young and No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa.
Perkins pointed to Davis’ recent workout videos as a sign the 10-time All-Star is locked in. “Me looking at Anthony Davis in the videos of him working out, he looks phenomenal. I think he’s engaged right now, and I think he wants to show the world,” he said. “We heard him say he wants to play 82 games.”
He also addressed the bigger-picture stakes for Davis, who has now been traded twice in the past year and a half, first from the Lakers to Dallas, then from Dallas to the Wizards.
“He’s getting towards the back end of his career, and I’m pretty sure he don’t want it to be labeled as a journeyman,” Perkins said. “He’s trying to find a home. I believe that he should embrace Washington, and Washington should embrace him.”
Davis appeared in just 20 games with Dallas last season before the trade, averaging 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks when healthy. Whether he can stay on the court long enough to justify Perkins’ lofty prediction remains the biggest question mark of his career.
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