"I probably would have taken a different direction": Former NBA champ Kendrick Perkins would have played for John Calipari for NIL

Kendrick Perkins believes that his college basketball trajectory would have been different if NIL bylaws had been in place during his time in college. In a conversation with Owen Poindexter on Front Office Sports this week, Perkins touched on the changed landscape Name, Image and Likeness deals now prevalent in high school and Division I sports.

When Poindexter asked Kendrick Perkins whether he would have joined a college basketball program during a NIL setting, the 2008 NBA champion agreed immediately, citing the curve his college career would have embarked on.

"I say that because if I did have that opportunity to make money the way that these student-athletes are making going to college, I probably would've taken a different direction," Perkins said.

"Most likely I would've. I signed with the University of Memphis and was going to play for John Calipari, and I was already projected to be like a late first-rounder or second-rounder out of high school."

"Coach Cal kept telling me 'Hey Kendrick look, if you come here, perk, I'm telling you I'm gonna make you a lottery pick.' And I wanted to go, I was going to go if I didn't get a guarantee to go on the first round. Once Boston guaranteed to pick me after my workout, I was out," Perkins added.

Kendrick Perkins did not play college basketball as the Celtics selected picked him from the high school level. He had led Ozen High School in Beaumont, Texas, to one state championship and four back-to-back district championships.

At the time, Perkins's priority was to provide a comfortable life for his grandparents, who had been taking care of him with a monthly wage of less than $540.

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Kendrick Perkins is spearheading a movement in the NIL world

The ESPN analyst's latest business venture includes enabling NIL athletes even more. Perkins is spearheading NILLY, a unique investment opportunity for student-athletes to benefit from their NIL with little to no waiting time.

Kendrick Perkins has joined hands with Chris Ricciardi as the co-founder of NILLY and will also act as the brand’s ambassador.

Both enrolled students and committed athletes can be part of NILLY’s benefits. Moreover, the structure between the company and athletes will be limited to NIL deals and not the players’ earnings from games.