Pelicans' Perkins on team's poor season: ‘This is not what I signed up for’
Kendrick Perkins thought he was joining a budding contender in the New Orleans Pelicans when he signed a one-year contract worth the veteran's minimum in July 2015.
At the very least, a return to the playoffs seemed likely. To be 14 games under .500 at the halfway mark? That seemed impossible.
The 13-year veteran says he's thoroughly disappointed with the team's lackluster effort thus far.
"It's very disappointing. At the end of the day, this is not what I signed up for," Perkins told Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports before Wednesday's win over the Sacramento Kings. "I signed up after I looked from the outside, coming in to a good young team that has been making strides in the right direction. We got real comfortable. We ain't got long to make a push.
"At this point in time, we are all just searching to find the right lineups and who is going to come out and compete at a high level every night. That's been our main problem before anything else. We just come out too many nights and don't compete at the level we need in order to win. What really is the key to everything is our level of competitiveness."
It's hard to blame Perkins for his optimistic assessment of the Pelicans. Success tends to be the expected result when the next NBA great in Anthony Davis is the team's star player.
Yet, with a 12-26 record, New Orleans isn't exactly distancing themselves from bottom-dwellers like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, or even the lowly Philadelphia 76ers.
But, with the exception of Brooklyn, all those teams have different priorities this year other than a championship: The Sixers and T-Wolves are grooming youth, while the Lakers are on the "Black Mamba Farewell Tour."
Perkins isn't alone in his sentiments either.
Davis, who signed a five-year, $145-million extension with the Pelicans in the offseason, echoed the center's thoughts, adding that he noticed some players were showing a lack of focus in Tuesday's loss to the Lakers while he sat out with a bruised back.
"I'm frustrated with losing and our energy and effort on the floor," Davis said. "But I know guys are really trying. They go out and compete every night. The frustration comes more when we don't. Like in the Laker game, we didn't bring it. It's even more frustrating when I can't play."