Kendrick Perkins was occasionally described by NBA analysts as an “extra assistant coach” when New Orleans signed him in July, but before he was sidelined with a pectoral injury Oct. 31, the 31-year-old center had managed to post 16 points and eight rebounds in only 28 minutes. Though that’s an extremely small sample size, Perkins still ranks as New Orleans’ second-leading scorer on a per-minute basis (via Basketball-Reference.com) in 2015-16, behind only Anthony Davis.
The Pelicans probably didn’t expect big offensive numbers or other gaudy statistics from the Beaumont, Texas, native when they acquired him, but they’ve also missed his presence in other ways.