Kendrick Perkins: JJ Redick ‘got more excuses than a brother going to jail’

If JJ Redick is looking for any sympathy as the Los Angeles Lakers are stuck in a bit of a rut, he won’t find it with Kendrick Perkins.

The Lakers picked up their fifth loss in seven games Thursday night, falling to the Phoenix Suns 113-110. And after the game, Redick claimed their “losses are louder than other teams because we’re the Lakers.” Which is true. The Lakers garner more attention and national commentary than any other NBA team. But as Kendrick Perkins noted Friday morning on First Take, that’s no excuse.

“JJ got more excuses than a brother going to jail. I don’t want to hear that. Now it’s time for you to coach. Get the attention of your locker room,” Perkins ranted. “When you have one of the worst defenses in the league, that is a reflection on the coach! But let me say this, for the overall picture, when it comes to LeBron and the Lakers’ relationship, that relationship is one foot on the grave and the other on the banana peel. they’re just waiting for the season to be over so they can actually end it.”

“The Lakers have a bigger problem than just this season,” Perkins continued. “Because if you think Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić can be your two max guys and you could build around them to bring a championship back to LA, you lost your damn mind.”

Earlier this season, Perkins criticized Redick for a lack of accountability, always blaming others for the Lakers’ struggles. And while Redick didn’t quite blame anyone else for their loss to Phoenix Thursday night, he did at least blame the outside noise for over-scrutinizing the Lakers. And Perkins’ apparent distaste for Redick runs deeper than his tenure with the Lakers. Perkins and Redick had some heated battles on First Take, most notably their disagreement over whether NBA MVP voters hold a racial bias.

But it sounds like Perkins may have given Redick more excuses beyond just the one that the Lakers’ losses were louder than those of other teams. Because for a team that has a top-5 player of all-time in LeBron James, a current top-5 player in Luka Dončić, and a developing star in Austin Reaves, Perkins painted a bleak picture for the Lakers and their future, all on the heels of a February loss to the Phoenix Suns. That’s a loud loss.