The Cleveland Cavaliers and Kendrick Perkins are working towards an agreement after Perkins was bought out by the Utah Jazz following his trade from the Thunder and now Perkins is set to join LeBron James over the Chicago Bulls after deciding to sign with the Cavs for an NBA playoffs run.
According to ESPN.com, Perkins has committed to signing with the team once his buyout with the Jazz is finalized. Perkins had interest from the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans and San Antonio Spurs as options and he opted to sign with the Cavs. Perkins now adds another big man to the mix for the Cavaliers and it comes after the team had a quiet trade deadline. Perkins is averaging four points and five rebounds in about 20 minutes per game and he can be a strong depth option behind Timofey Mozgov.
UPDATE: Perkins is signing with the Cavaliers after his move from the Thunder. The NBA trade deadline saw a flurry of moves and now that Kendrick Perkins has been traded and bought out by the Jazz, teams like the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers are interested in Perkins once he becomes a free agent and they could battle for his services for the second stretch run into the playoffs.
Perkins has a ton of playoffs experience with the Thunder and Celtics and he could be a strong option for both the Bulls and the Cavaliers. The Cavs and Bulls were mostly quiet at the trade deadline, as they made their moves in the offseason and earlier in the season. According to Pro Basketball Talk, Perkins is a target for both of those teams, while the Clippers are a distant third. Perkins reportedly wanted to sign with the Mavericks, but after they added Amar'e Stoudemire, that likely will not be happening.
David Aldridge reports that the buyout with the Jazz is being finalized and once that gets done, Perkins can sign with other teams. The Clippers are an option since Perkins played for Doc Rivers in Boston and they have an injury to Blake Griffin, but right now they are behind the Cavs and the Bulls in his pursuit. The Jazz moved Enes Kanter in the deal and now they are letting go of Perkins, who is averaging four points and five rebounds per game this season.
The Bulls had Taj Gibson as a trade target for teams at the deadline, but they did not move him, while the Cavaliers would like to add some more support behind Timofey Mozgov and Kevin Love. Both of those teams are battling for the central division and as the playoffs get closer, they will be looking to stay on top. Perkins is a strong defensive presence and while he is 30 years old now, he can be a strong second unit player for either team.
The Bulls considered trading Gibson since they have Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic, but they opted against making a move. Gibson has been putting up about the same numbers he did last season despite the presence of the two and now the team could add Perkins. The Cavaliers added Timofey Mozgov earlier in the season and he has helped the team turn things around on defense. The Cavs went from one game under .500 to right in the mix with the Bulls after a strong run the past two months and now adding Perkins could make them even better.
Perkins won a title in Boston and has made deep playoff runs with the Thunder over the past few years.