Kendrick Perkins thinks Bradley Beal does ‘NOTHIN’ for the Clippers 😬 | First Take

Kendrick Perkins thinks Bradley Beal does ‘NOTHIN’ for the Clippers 😬 | First Take

Another team making a move after two unsuccessful years. Bradley Bill is done in Phoenix. According to Sham Shirania, Bill has agreed to a contract buyout and plans to join the Clippers on a 2-year, $11 million deal after he clears waiverss. He will join a starting lineup that obviously includes Kawi Leonard and James Harden. Now, a little bit of context, y’all, because I think we got to look at his time in Phoenix. He averaged 17.6 points per game. That was the first time he’s averaged less than 20 points per game in consecutive seasons since 2015 2016. Those two seasons 2014 through 2016. With that in mind, Herk, what does the addition of Bradley Bill do for the Los Angeles Clippers? Nothing. Nothing. I mean, like I’m just I’m just being real here, right? Like you know we was talking about maybe four years ago we had Bradley Bill in the conversation with the likes of a Devin Booker, Jaylen Brown, Donovan Mitchell when it came down when it comes down to the two guard position. But when you look at the Clippers and you look at who they have, they they not doing nothing but getting older. And I know that they got John Collins from the from the Utah Jazz, but when you look at what teams have done this off season, the teams that are trying to go get it, they have youth. They have athleticism. They have depth at the wing position that could play both ways. I don’t trust that the the Clippers don’t have that. Yeah, you bring back James Harden who’s going to do great in the regular season. You bring back Kaw Leonard who shows signs of life towards the end of the season that he could be healthy, but we still don’t don’t know, right? He’s always had a question mark. The only bright spot in my opinion on this squad has been Big Zubac, right? Big Zubac, who had an impressive season last year, went toe-to-toe with Jokic last season, last postseason in the uh seven game series and held his own. So, when I look at the Clippers, they’re going to be a top eight seed in the Western Conference. They’re going to be they’re going to be eight somewhere along those lines, but they’re not better than OKC. They’re not better than Dallas. They’re not better than Denver. They’re not better than Golden State. So again, Bradley Bradley Bill on this squad becoming the fourth option between behind James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Big Zubac. I mean, to be honest, doesn’t really do nothing for me. It doesn’t move the needle. It shouldn’t have been breaking news. It should have just been NBA news. Okay, I have a couple thoughts. Go ahead. If you don’t stop now, I what I do agree with Perk about is that you don’t have a fountain of youth when it comes to the Los Angeles Cook. A lot of us do. But here’s my thing though. What was one of the keys to the OKC Thunder Championship and also the Indiana Pacers going there? Depth, right? Speed and depth. Yes. And when they traded Norma Powell, number one, it raised my eye. I was like, well, I was like, hold on, what’s going on here? Because this is a guy who’s had his best season in his NBA career, and now you’re trading him. But something else had to come of it. You look at Brook Lopez coming over in free agency to back up Zubac. You go get a John Collins as well and now you get Brad Bradley Bill. So basically you you said we’re gonna get three players for one. Okay. And I like that move because you’re adding depth across the board. But on any given night in my opinion, you have four guys in your starting lineup that can give you 20 plus points that can be your leading scoreer. So I do love that when it comes to the Los Angeles Clippers. And I don’t believe they’re going to be a top eight team. I believe they’re going to be a top four or five team next season. Okay. All right. HC Wendy, I’m coming to you. Wendy, you and I did NBA today recently when the DeAndre Aton news was announced, right? Similarish situation. I was in DC when Bradley Bill was at his best with the Wizards. He has commanded far more money than the next two years are going to be in Phoenix. Inspiration like how do we put that into context? Well, first off, let’s just point out that the Suns did a hundred million buyout of a player that they’re now going to pay $20 million a year for for the next five years. Oh goodness. And by the way, I kind of get it because they’re going to save over $200 million just this year alone. But that’s another topic. We’re talking about the Clippers. I also want to point out Perk is right. Perk is right that on the wing, their athleticism of what’s going to be required to win 12 games in the Western Conference playoffs. They’re going to get tested. I agree. But when you look at the teams that had great success last season, they had depth and size. Size and depth. And that is what the Clippers have focused on this off seasonason. Bradley Beal averaging 17 points a game. Um, and by the way, he wasn’t part of the reason his scoring was down, guys, is he wasn’t getting the ball. Now, you can argue whether that was a good decision or not, but he had the lowest usage rate of his whole career. He had he got the ball more as a rookie than he did last year in Phoenix, but that’s whatever. But 17 million 17 points a game at $50 million a year, you’re not thrilled with that. You’re you’re paying a guy with max with a no trade clause. Of course, you think he’s underachieving. 17 points and 50% shooting at $5 million a year. Now we’re having a different conversation. And that’s what the Clippers did. The Clippers took Norman Pal, a guy that they really like, but they did not want to give him a new contract because they want to protect their cap space the next two years because they’re going to be big game hunting. Perk, you’re right again about their age. Absolutely. But they’re going to go big game hunting the next two years. They didn’t want to give Pal the contract. So, they took Pal and their mid-level exception and they turned it into Brook Lopez, John Collins, and Bradley Beal. That is good work. Is it championship work? We’ll see. But that is good work by that organization. Burke, what you got? We’re two minutes out from break. Well, well, well, to Harris’s point again, we always talking about one side of the basketball, right? Harry bought up, and I love Harry, but he bought up, oh, on any given night, they have three guys that could light you up for 30 points. Well, who the hell they going to defend, right? When you when you talk about guys and you talk see OKC and Indiana, they raise the bar when it comes down to having wing defenders in the NBA. The most important position in the league is the wing guys that could defend at a high level, right? When you look at OKC, when you look at Indiana, you look at a Nar, you look at an Aaron Smith, those guys defend they behind zone. And we we already know what Oklahoma City bringing to the table. Nico Harrison traded Luca because he said that defense win championships and it do. So again, I’m looking at Bradley Bill probably going to be the fourth option on this team behind James Horn and Kawhai Big Zubac because they go to Zubac heavy on that low block. So it’s just not moving the needle for me. I’m sorry. Not for us being title contender. Summer league rolls on today with four more games. Pacers, Knicks at 4:30 Eastern on ESPN 2, followed by Spurs, Hornets on ESPN, then Celtics, Lakers with the Nuggets, and Clippers capping off the night at 11 Eastern, 8 Pacific on ESPN 2. Speaking of those Clippers, well, they’re tied into this next story because after two unsuccessful years, Bradley Bill is now moving on from Phoenix. According to Sham Shirania, Bill has agreed to a contract buyout and plans to join those Los Angeles Clippers, the aforementioned Clippers on a 2-year, $11 million deal after he clears waiverss. He will join a starting lineup that includes Kawhi Leonard and James Harden. So, now the question is, are the Clippers the new best team in California? And this morning, Park, you had pretty strong sentiments, or lack thereof, I guess, of what this move actually does for the Clippers. So, are the Clippers the best team in California? Hell no. Hell no. Give me Give me a team in California that has culture, that has foundation, that has stability, and that has a reliable superstar that’s not disgruntled, and that’s the Golden State Warriors. No drama from the Golden State Warriors right now. Obviously, they’re dealing with Jonathan Kaminga and what they’re going to do, but when it comes down to their big three, Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green, I trust them more for those guys leading the way than any other team that’s in the state of California. And that include the Lakers alongside the Clippers. I don’t trust the Clippers like that when it comes down to are they going to be there? Too many question marks. Over the last five or six seasons, Bradley Bill has played 60 games one time. Kawhi Leonard, we know he could come into the season and that knee could be bothering him again. We don’t know what to expect out of him. Again, James Harden, great regular season guy, but we see him fold like like clean sheets in the postseason like he did against the Denver Nuggets in the game seven. So, if you asking me who’s the best team, I’m going with the team that’s led by Steph Curry. I’m going with the team that has a top five coach and Steve Cerr and the Golden State Warriors that they just got Jimmy Butler back because things probably would have look a little bit different if Jimmy if Jimmy Butler wasn’t injured and Steph Curry wouldn’t have went out with that hamstring last postseason. Get this team a full training camp together and I got the Golden State Warriors as the best team in the state of California. Kawhi Leonard played in 37 games this past season. Wendy, I see you over there nodding like you’re sitting in the service. Well, Perk is making good points. I’m going to be taking a position against him here. Oh, and I don’t like it because I just agree with a lot of what he said. Um, I think the Clippers have an incredible opportunity here. I look, Perk, you are right. There’s no possible way that you can trust Kawi Leonard. That said, the Clippers finished this last season when Kawawaii was healthy 18 and three. And I know that you raised earlier in the show, you raised the concern about their defense. And look, man, I can’t talk you out of that. I think you’re making a good point there. But they were a really good defensive team all last season. And that’s because they’re very well coached and they play incredibly hard. They play with great defensive energy. And you know, if it’s the Zubats might have he might win the defensive player of the year this year. Chris Dunn and Dererick Jones Jr. are very good defensive players. They have good defenders. They may not have the defensive depth of a team like Oklahoma City. That’s true. Nobody does. But this team finished very strongly. And look, they lost that sevename series to the Nuggets by the skin of their teeth. If Aaron Gordon doesn’t have that miracle dunk in game four, I don’t know how this series goes. I think the Clippers have really put themselves in a great position. But Monica, I want to say there’s two giant unknowns. Number one, we don’t know who’s going to be on the Warriors roster. Are they going to finish the deal with Al Horford? I think probably. Are they going to get Jonathan Kaminga back or sign and trade him for something of value? I think one of those two things is likely. So, the Warriors can improve their hand. And the biggest question I would argue in the entire Western Conference is what Luca Donuch is showing up for the for the Lakers. For the previous five years, Luca Donuch was top three, top four for MVP. A lot of people thought last year was the year he won the MVP. Last year, largely due to injury, he had his he had a down year. If he comes back and is the MVP Luca or is MVP winning Luca Donuch, we’re talking about a whole different situation in LA, but I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t know what kind of condition he’s going to be in to start the season. Huh. I’m going to go with Wendy. Can I give you a requirement in your answer, though? Yeah, go ahead. You got to use a perkism. I know you got that. I got that southern in common, but go ahead. I will say this right here. When it comes to the Golden State Warriors, okay, and their big man dead bird tall grass, they don’t have one. One thing I know about the Western Conference is that you better have a really good big man because when I look at OKC, they have it. When I look at the Rockets, I look at the Denver Nuggets, I look at Minnesota, I even Memphis, everybody has a big man but the Golden State Warriors. So, so when you play the Los Angeles Clippers, who is going to guard Zubac? Who’s going to guard Brook Lopez? Because they have a backup big man now as well. I also look at the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors last season and how quickly we forget that they the Warriors went 0 and4 versus the Clippers. How quickly we forget big perk, dead bird, tall grass. You better have a big man in the Western Conference. I’m going with the Los Angeles Clippers. Well, they do. They do have they do have a few big men over there. One, Draymond Green. The reason that he’s pro arguably one of the the greatest def defensive players of all time is because he changed the game, right? We we’re talking about a guy in the last 20 years that, you know, arguably has been the the the greatest defender that we’ve seen over the last 20 years. That’s number one. Number two, you ever heard of the term player development, right? When you look at a guy like uh uh Quinton Post or a guy like uh Jackson Davis, Oklahoma City Thunder showed us and the Indiana Pacers showed Indiana Pacers showed us how crucial it is for player development. Haron, let me ask you a question. Talk. Did you know who Jaylen Williams was? Did you know who Jaylen Williams was before the playoffs started? And I’m not talking about Jay Dub. I’m talking about the other one that came in off the bench. Did you know him for OKC? Yes. Yes. Did the world know him? No. Their development. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. What we’re talking about here is we’re talking about culture and player development. And what we’re also talking about is that we have to move on from all this stuff in the past with these household names. When you bring up a guy like Brook Lopez who’s been over the past two seasons been getting cooked in the pick and roll because he can’t slide those puppies, right? We got to start acknowledging these other guys that made like a guy like Jaylen Williams who made a name for himself in the post in the postseason when he was called in off the bench to guard a guy like Nola Jokic and did an excellent job in his role and all of a sudden they win a championship and he gets a contract extension. When you have leaders, when you have leaders like Steph Curry, like Draymond Green, like playoff Jimmy, then everybody else raise their level of play is what I’m trying to tell you. So, don’t sleep on the Golden State Warriors. It’s too much. It’s too many. It’s too many unknowns when you talk about the Clippers or you talk about the Lakers. We don’t know if LeBron James is healthy when it comes down to the I mean uh happy, excuse me. When it comes down to Lakers, we got to question whether or not Luca Donic is going to come in in shape. We got to We got to question whether or not DeAndre Aton is going to do the little things at a center position that don’t show up in the box score. We don’t have to question that type of stuff when it comes to the Golden State Warriors. Bradley, again, Bradley Bill had Oh, go ahead. I got I got one thing. You yelling. Wipe your lips sweat cuz you you yelling at us. Anyway, I got one thing though on the um the player development point that you made for the Warriors. I get the veterans perk. I tr I truly get the veterans. Your centerpiece is obviously Curry, Green, Butler, but you kind of just said that we have to let go of some of the household names things when their productivity has taken a hit. And then you brought in the player development. to me. Why hasn’t Kaminga been able to develop and player development is so strong in this example? Monica, let me take it to another level. Why the hell didn’t James Wiseman develop? But I’m just saying, but if we talking about player development, they that was a guy that was drafted number two overall by the Golden State Warriors, right? Yeah. Yeah. So, we’re talking about player development perk. Why didn’t James Wiseman develop with the Golden State Warriors if everything is so peaches and cream in that organization? but because he didn’t want to buy in. Hell, James Wiseman haven’t developed in no organization he’s been in. Hell, J one could argue that James Wiseman wasn’t trying to develop at the University of Memphis. Again, it takes two to tangle. You have to be willing to put in the work. You have to be willing to sacrifice, especially when you’re a young player. I could tell you who has uh stood out. He had he didn’t had his highs and his lows, but you watch a guy like Pajypsky, his value is up. We saw what Okay, Pajypsky balled out. So, what I’m saying is Quinton Post, a guy like Quinton Post, he showed signs last season of development. Jackson Hayes, he has an upside. And what I’m explaining to you guys is when you have three leaders, three guys that gonna set the tone, that’s going to be vocal, that’s going to lead by example, like a Steph, like a Draymond, like a Jimmy Butler, you have something way more valuable than what the other teams in the state of California have. And that’s why I’m giving the edge to the Golden State Warriors. In actuality, Perk, I agree with you, but for the sake of the show. Wendy, final word. Look at the actions of the contenders in the West over the last year. Isaiah Hardenstein was priority one for the Thunder this off season. The Rockets ressign Steven Adams sign Clint Capella. The Nuggets bring in Yonis Valenunis. The Clippers bring in Brook Lopez. Everybody is recognizing what Harry says. Size, size, size. You’re right, Perk. They are not all perfect players. They’re all backups, but size is so important. Even a team like Portland, they’re drafting centers and back-toback drafts. Perk, the big man is back. You you you played in the wrong era. You’d be getting taken care of these days, buddy. So, I respect your your your belief in the Warriors. The Warriors got a lot going for them. Hey, they went further in the playoffs. They went further in the playoffs than the Lakers or the or the Clippers last year. The Warriors might have even gotten farther had Steph not gotten hurt, but that big man position is a power up position in the West. And the and the Warriors are a little bit worrisome there, man. It is. Listen, the big man is back, but then I wonder, can Small Ball find a way again? I don’t know. We’ll have to watch and wait and see. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

The First Take crew discusses Bradley Beal agreeing to a contract buyout with the Phoenix Suns and joining the LA Clippers.

0:00 Are the Clippers contenders with Beal?
7:04 The best California team?!
13:42 Kendrick Perkins sounds off

☑️ Subscribe to ESPN+: https://plus.espn.com/
📱 Get the ESPN App: http://www.espn.com/espn/apps/espn
🏀 Subscribe to NBA on ESPN on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2yxs3Og
☑️ Subscribe to ESPN on YouTube: http://es.pn/SUBSCRIBEtoYOUTUBE
☑️ Watch ESPN on YouTube TV: http://es.pn/YouTubeTV

#ESPN #NBA #FirstTake