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Kendrick Perkins faced a barrage of Oklahoma City press Saturday at the Thunder’s practice facility.  It was the first official meeting between the new Thunder player and media types; we were all pleased to get a chance to get to know him better.  He delighted the group with surprising humor and assurances that he was truly happy with being traded to the Thunder.

 

"I’m excited about being here, honestly," Perkins began.  "I’ve been with an organization for eight years and a group of guys that I’ve grown a brotherhood with, but I feel very comfortable here.  I feel…I’m very excited."

 

"The guys here are great, the organization is great, so I think the transition was a lot easier coming to a great organization, great city, so I am excited about it," he continued.  "I am gonna miss Boston, but I am happy to be here.  So it’s a new start for me, and hopefully I can come in and make a great impact and a positive impact.  I’m just happy to be here."

 

And so began Perkins’ insistence that he was indeed okay with this trade.  He used the words "happy" and "excited" with such sincerity and with such frequency that no media member left the building with doubts.

"From all of them, to Coach Brooks to the GM, everybody made me feel very welcomed, even the city.  I think from getting off the plane, everybody was telling me they’re excited for me to be here," Perkins shared.

 

His next disclosure tugged at the heartstrings.

 

"It kinda put a lot of pressure on me, because now I feel like I gotta come in here and be better than ever as far as being a defensive-minded player and bringing a defensive mentality to this team."

 

We couldn’t help but notice how Perkins repeatedly talked about his new team in a way that demonstrated real ownership already.

 

"I’m just trying to be a positive piece added on to us, so I think sky’s the limit here.  We just gotta put it together.  We look good on paper, but I think we gotta put the work in and put it on the court."

 

One thing that did come as a surprise was the disclosure that he will not appear in a game for another two to three weeks.  He tweaked his non-surgery knee a few days ago; the team is being extra careful to ensure an early debut doesn’t set him back.

"You know what, I’m just going to listen to  what the doctor says," Perkins said.  "I’m just going to keep working to try to get back as soon as possible.  I know we have a nice home stretch in March, so hopefully I’ll be back before then.  As long as I can get me some good games in the regular season, a good push going into the playoffs, I think I’m going to be alright.  I’m just taking it one day at a time."

 

Then he said something that caused every individual there to raise an eyebrow and scribble furiously.

 

"I’m just here for the long haul."

 

Recall that Perkins’ contract expires at the end of the season.  General manager Sam Presti is gambling on the hope that he can extend him in free agency.  There was no way Perkins was going to get out of expounding on that "long haul" statement.

 

{AUTHOR_BOX}"I hope I can be here.  I want to be here.  I couldn’t find a better situation for myself.  I really want to be here.  The city’s just so great.  The organization, just being around is overwhelming, so I do want to be here and hopefully we can work something out.  They are the first option."

 

"I just know Oklahoma City is my first option," he said as the final comment on that subject.

 

Actually, Oklahoma City was nearly an option, by Perkins’ choice, last year.

 

"To be honest, I actually talked to my agent about Oklahoma City last year," Perkins revealed.  "I knew my contract was coming to an end, so I asked him…I was like ‘would you think they’d be interested?  I feel like I can come here and help them.’"

 

"You know, God works in mysterious ways," he added.

 

Perkins didn’t talk much about specific Thunder players.  There’s plenty of time for that.

 

"I’m just trying to get healthy and trying to develop good chemistry, since I’m not on the court, just in the locker room with the guys.  Showing them that I’m not just a mean guy that everybody thinks I am.  I wouldn’t call myself a soft teddy bear ’cause it might mess with my image, but I am a great guy and I’m happy to be here."

 

At last, the doors were open for us to explore more about his menacing on-court look, that famous scowl.

 

It was impossible not to realize, soon into this first official meeting with him as a Thunder player, that Perkins is a nice guy with an easy smile.  We had to know more about that scowl.  We had to know the origin or the process by which it shows up on-court.

 

"I pick something about them (an opponent) that I just don’t like.  It’s petty, but it’s just me.  It kind of sticks with me the whole day.  So on game days, if I’m playing against whoever, it’s just something about them that I might not like.  I might not like the way he walks on the court, then I just carry it on to the game."

 

Whatever works, Perk.  Just be that intimidating presence in the low-post.  Even when your old team comes around.  Can he find something in Kevin Garnett to inspire an angry attitude?

 

"Yeeeaah," Perkins said, stretching out the word, after a long pause.  "Because I know he’s gonna do it to me.  Then after the game, it’s love.  But I know once we step on the court, he’s gonna do it to me.  He’s gonna go find something that I did to him while we was together; he’s gonna do it to me, so I got to do it to him first."

 

Suddenly, someone shouted out "(Pau) Gasol…what do you not like about him?"

 

Without hesitation, Kendrick said: "Everything."  A slight pause, then again: "Everything."  Cue uproarious laughter.

 

That will certainly be music to Thunder fans’ ears given the way Game 6 went in the first round of last years’ playoff game.

 

He shared a little more about The Scowl.  With the exception of his son seeing it occasionally, it’s limited to on-court use only.

"I’m cool.  At game time, I wake up with an attitude after my nap so it’s just like, you know, maybe my wife pissed me off or something of that nature.  You know, just get aggravated."

 

Cue appreciative laughter again.  He was on a roll.  We saw a different side of Perkins that Oklahoma City fans are going to eat up.

 

"I walked in today, and didn’t have a pair of shoes.  I had my old Celtics shoes.  So I was like ‘man, you gotta get that outta here’, so I threw it right in the trash.  Try to pass me a green medicine bottle today, and I said ‘l don’t want to see anything green’.  Boston is the last thing on my mind now."

 

That may be a bit of self-preservation talk there, as he was quick to give props to the Celtics.

 

"I’m gonna try to install some of the things that I got from playing with some of the Hall of Famers I played with in Boston.  I picked up a lot of things.  Doc Rivers, KG, Paul (Pierce), Ray (Allen) – it was a lot of things they taught me.  So all I can do is try to carry over and teach these guys.  They’re already good, so we’re just trying to be great."

 

Two to three weeks can’t come soon enough.