Perkins reflects on playing, friendship with Rondo

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CAMBRIDGE -- Kendrick Perkins glanced over at Rajon Rondo as he addressed a pack of reporters following his charity game on Saturday night at Harvard University.

Rondo held court wearing a pair of thick black glasses, a gray jacket, and fitted t-shirt. Perkins, dressed in a white zip-up hoodie and blue thermal shirt, smiled and laughed.

That's nice, he grinned. You see them glasses he's got on today? That's him. He's so fly.

Best friends Rondo and Perkins took the court together for charity, the closest they have come to playing basketball together in Boston since Perkins was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in February.

The impact Perkins absence had on Rondo was widely discussed last season. Nine months after the move, Perkins reflected on how playing without Rondo affected him as well.

You never know how many easy baskets you can get dealing with a guy like him, Perkins said of Rondo. And just also the chemistry that me and him have together and just being the other two outside of the Big Three (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen), and how close we got.

It's definitely hard, but at the same time we both talked on the phone after the trade and I told him what's done is done. We've just got to go out there and we've both got jobs to do. It's not going to affect how we interact or how we feel about each other. We've just got jobs to do.

The big man who plays with his emotions realizes basketball is a business -- I never was mad at Danny (Ainge), I never was mad at Wyc (Grousbeck) for trading me. I was just happy that I was able to be here for nine years, he said. And with the birth of his second son, Kingston, just five weeks ago, he has an extra mouth to feed regardless of who he is playing with.

Perkins and Rondo have mulled the idea of heading overseas together if the NBA lockout continues. But even if they dont get to suit up as teammates again, Perkins is confident in their relationship that goes beyond basketball.

Rondo brings out my humble side, he said. I think he always keeps me stable, never lets me get too high or too low. We call each other a lot. We talk almost every day. We talk about a lot of different situations. Anything going on on his mind, he calls me. Anything going on on my mind, I'm going to call him. So that's the type of relationship we've got.

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