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Perkins embracing role as Cavs' clubhouse leader, hype man

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

When the Cleveland Cavaliers brought Kendrick Perkins aboard two weeks ago, LeBron James referred to the championship DNA the veteran center would bring to the team. Most found the statement somewhat grandiose. 

Well, it seems Perkins adds another value: pumping the tires of James and other Cavaliers. "I'm just telling him to be great," Perkins told Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. "I'm letting him know that it's on him to go out there and show the world once again who the man is."

His prose continued on James:

Whatever I have to do to get this team up to play, I'm going to do it. And part of it is making sure 'Bron is in the right frame of mind. I'm going to do what is ever in my power to get him going because he's the best in the game.

While Perkins's skills on the floor have declined, his skills as a motivator have apparently appreciated, verbally inspiring teammates like James, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook over the years.

James, who has known Perkins since they were children, is just happy to have him on board. "I loved playing with him when we were kids and I hated playing against him those times when he was in Boston and OKC," he told Haynes. "I'm back to loving him again."

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