ESPN personality and NBA Today analyst Kendrick Perkins has called out Los Angeles Lakers star D'Angelo Russell to be more reliable.
The former NBA big man sounded off on Rusell for his inconsistent play and proclaimed he would "trade him for a box of Christmas candles" in a bizarre rant on Thursday's edition of the popular ESPN basketball show.
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Perkins was joined alongside host Malika Andrew, Ramona Shelburne, NBA insider Brian Windhorst, WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike and coach Becky Hammon.
The panel discussed whether the Lakers were letting down NBA legend Lebron James with their slow start to the season despite winning the inaugural in-season tournament.
Perkins expressed the front office deserves some blame, but his issue was with the Lakers' guards, and he believes they need to improve and add consistency.
"I would say Darvin Ham takes a little blame in this.
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"But I'm looking at the players; Rui Hachimura has to elevate his game more and be more consistent.
"Austin Reeves has been great off the bench, Cam Reddish, they're giving him an opportunity, and he needs to be more consistent," Perkins said.
He continued to detail his disappointment with the guards in Los Angeles and stunned the panel when he blasted Russell for being "horrible" this season.
"It's about D'Angelo Russell.
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"Right now, I would trade him for a box of Christmas candles and a lifelong supply of Christmas lights.
"That's how horrible he's been."
Perkins backed up his argument with a graphic showing Russell's inconsistent numbers on the season.
From the start of the season until November, Rusell averaged 17.6 points and shot almost 50% from the field.
However, since the start of December, his numbers have dropped tremendously, with his points falling to 8.7 a game and his field goal percentage slipping to 38%.
The Lakers are 15-14 on the season and are currently the tenth seed in the Western Conference, seven games back from the first-place Minnesota Timberwolves.
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