“No Dinners on The Road,” Kendrick Perkins Refuses to Call Los Angeles Lakers a ‘Team’

Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins believes that the Los Angeles Lakers have no chemistry off the court.

“No Dinners on The Road,” Kendrick Perkins Refuses to Call Los Angeles Lakers a ‘Team’

Kendrick Perkins says the Lakers have no off the court chemistry (Image credits - Firstsportz)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

It appears that the Los Angeles Lakers have hit a bit of a roadblock halfway into the 2025-26 campaign, and Kendrick Perkins believes it is due to their off-court chemistry. The Lakers are coming off a shocking 135-117 blowout to the Charlotte Hornets at the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. It is their latest setback after a strong start to the 2025-26 campaign.

It was the Lakers’ fourth loss in their last five games, highlighting their struggles, especially against young and athletic teams. Their lack of defensive energy and strong wing defenders have been the major reasons as to why many do not view the ‘Purple and Gold’ as championship contenders this season.

Their poor run has seen them slide to sixth in the Western Conference standings, and they are currently just one game ahead of the seventh seeds, the Phoenix Suns. Despite Luka Doncic playing at an MVP level and LeBron James finding his top form after turning 41, the Lakers’ struggles are getting exposed a lot more frequently.

With James at the backend of his career, Doncic has been the focal point of the team, and the Lakers management has built their roster around the Slovenian guard as they prepare for life in the post-James era.

To make matters worse, James’ longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul, has started his own podcast and made some controversial statements about the Lakers and suggested that the management should trade Austin Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jaren Jackson Jr.

Former NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins went off on the Lakers on NBA Today on Friday.

Did you just have the audacity to call the Lakers a team? That’s not a team, that’s a bunch of individuals. I’m willing to bet everything that I have that it’s not a group chat with the Lakers. If it is, ain’t nobody saying nothing. I’m willing to bet it’s no team dinners on the road. That’s showing up to work, do your job, everybody go their own way, and that’s how they perform on the floor.

While Perkins’ statements may come off a bit harsh, it is a bit odd as well. Just because the Lakers are poor defensively, it does not mean that the team has no chemistry off the court. They just do not have good defenders on their roster.

Jaren Jackson Jr. reacts to Rich Paul’s proposal

When Paul suggested that the Lakers should trade Reaves, who has been the biggest story of the Lakers’ season, for a big man like Jackson Jr., there was no doubt that his comments were going to come back to bite James. While James distanced himself from Paul’s statements, claiming that Paul is his own man, Paul’s latest podcast has not gone down well with the organization.

Paul did go on to address the Reaves trade suggestion and claimed that he spoke to Reaves’ agent about it and there were no hard feelings involved. When Jackson Jr. was asked about it, via The Athletic, he said he didn’t even think it was real at first.

There’s just a lot of podcasts. At first, I didn’t think it was real. You have to figure out if it’s real, usually now, and I’m not as versed in technology as these people younger than me. I was figuring out if it’s AI, deepfake, all that stuff. That’s all I had, I didn’t really have much of a reaction.

After the trade of Desmond Bane in the offseason, many expected that the Grizzlies would part ways with Ja Morant and Jackson Jr. as well. A few days ago, it was reported that for the first time, the club are looking to trade Morant before the deadline. Hence, it would not be far-fetched to expect that Jackson Jr. will be in the market as well as the Grizzlies look to rebuild their squad.

Lakers to go off on an eight-game road trip

The Lakers have a long eight-game road trip after their home fixture against the Toronto Raptors on January 18. The timing isn’t ideal, as the Lakers are struggling with form, and with Reaves still ruled out, a lot more will be expected from a 41-year-old James.

Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic and LeBron James
Austin Reaves, Luka Doncic and LeBron James (Image via Bleacher Report/X)

The Lakers will be taking on the likes of the Denver Nuggets, cross-town rivals Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the New York Knicks, who are some of the teams that could cause the Lakers significant problems. Reaves is expected to return in a week’s time and the Lakers will be hoping to have him back for the backend of their road trip.

Despite the tough road ahead, the Lakers have performed well on the road this season. They have gone 13-7 in their 20 away games so far. It is their home form that has been a matter of concern as their current record is 11-8 at the Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers take on an in-form Portland Trail Blazers in Portland on January 17 on their first night of a back-to-back.

Also Read: