I could totally see this happening.
Now that the NBA Finals are out of the way, it’s time to enter the offseason, and as a result, former NBA star and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins predicted five moves that he sees happening this summer.
The biggest on his board relates to Philadelphia 76ers superstar James Harden, who he believes will become a Los Angeles Laker and team up with LeBron James.
Expected to opt out of the final year of his deal with the Sixers, Harden would become a free agent and able to sign with any team that he wants, and Perkins seems to think it will be the purple and gold.
If Harden does indeed sign with the Lakers, it would actually be a homecoming for Harden, who is from Los Angeles. He once attended Artesia High School in nearby Lakewood.
As far as Perkins’ four other predictions, he has Bradley Beal going to the Boston Celtics, Fred VanVleet heading to the Philadelphia 76ers, Draymond Green joining the Phoenix Suns (which is another shocker) and Brook Lopez re-signing with the Milwaukee Bucks.
.@KendrickPerkins is predicting some BIG moves this summer 👀
(via NBA Today) pic.twitter.com/1rrctlfIMy
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 14, 2023
The three that I could legitimately see happening: Brook Lopez re-signing with the Milwaukee Bucks (which is an obvious one to me), Fred VanVleet becoming a Philadelphia 76er and James Harden heading back home to become a Laker, for the simple fact that he’s from Los Angeles, and on top of that, he probably has a championship as his top priority at 33 years old. And who’s to say that he didn’t grow up a Lakers fan?
Put yourself in his shoes: You’re from Los Angeles (which is a city full of palm trees and beaches that you happen to call home), you’re a Lakers fan (potentially), and you get the opportunity to play with LeBron James and Anthony Davis to go on a championship run. And you’re getting paid millions to do all of this. (RELATED: Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa Showcases Unbelievable Speed By Stealing Home In Wacky Subway Series Inning Against Mets)
Kendrick Perkins might be onto something here with the Harden prediction.