Kendrick Perkins Sought ‘Punishment’ for Anti-Jimmy Butler Campaign, Makes Hilarious Request on National TV

Wondering why Perk asked his co-analyst Richard Jefferson to punish him on National TV? Remember the time when Kendrick Perkins asked the Miami Heat to trade away Jimmy Butler earlier this year? Jogging your memory back to January, Perk publicly outed his thoughts on the 6x NBA All-Star. Perkins said that the Miami Heat should move their #22 to the Philadelphia 76ers so he could pair up with Joel Embiid once more.

Though his intention was only to bring Butler to a team with a more suitable roster, it took Butler just 2 months to make the former NBA pro-turned-analyst swallow his words. Perkins asked 2017 NBA champion Richard Jefferson to punish him for his previous misreading of the red hot Miami Heat. The funnier part was that RJ actually enjoyed accepting this golden opportunity of hitting Kendrick Perkins over the head.

NBA on ESPN were quick to post the clip to their official Instagram page. They captioned it, “Perk had RJ slap him across the head for his Jimmy Butler take.” In the video, Perk admits, “I deserved that. You know why? Because when the Miami Heat was struggling, I was like you know what it’s time to trade Jimmy. And dumb me for that. Because when the time is right, they always step up to the play and now they’re playing play-off type basketball.”

It’s big of Perkins to admit to his mistake. Though, after the Heat won 9 of their last 11 games, it would be pretty difficult for the 2008 NBA champion to stand by his word.

Looking at their stats, Miami is 35-26 with most of their winning matchups having a comfortable score gap. Moreover, their defeats also have a close difference showing that they are always IN the game. But they did face a declining phase when Kendrick Perkins made his comments on Butler’s future with the Heat.

Why did Kendrick Perkins want Jimmy Butler out of Miami?

Sports analysts have some tricky shoes to fill with their tough jobs. Perk did receive a fair share of backlash for his comments in January. However, he wanted Jimmy Butler out of Miami as they did not open their regular season campaign strongly at all with as big as 7 consecutive losses at one time. After all, Perkins also believes that Butler should be in the top 10 conversation.

Perk wanted Butler to play with seasoned ballers in the 76ers who had a better chance of competing for the title. He also brought up the age factor as the 35-year-old small-forward is inching closer to the end of his NBA career. Perkins also mentioned on NBA on ESPN that Miami should do right by Jimmy as they cannot have another magical run again.

Nevertheless, the Heat is back on fire as they are continuously giving their fans a reason to believe in them. It is good to see that Kendrick Perkins owned his mistake and just like he mentioned the trade on national TV, he took his punishment for it on national TV as well.

Read More- Unfazed Jimmy Butler Takes Serbian Lessons To Cheer On Heat Amid Suspension Woes