On ESPN's NBA Today, former player turned analyst Kendrick Perkins talked about who's the best team in the city of LA between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers after the news of James Harden being traded to the latter. When asked who's the “team to beat” in the Los Angeles basketball scene, he said that the Lakers have been outmatched time and time again by the Clippers.

“The Clippers have owned the Lakers every-time they match up. The Lakers do not match up well against the Clippers even before the James Harden trade,” Perkins said. “Not saying that it's a landslide, but I give the slight edge to the Clippers [over the Lakers].”

He emphasized that the one aspect keeping the Clippers down has been their health as stars such as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been injured and missed a significant amount of games. Perkins went on to say if fully healthy, they would've made a lot of noise in the playoffs last season.

“If Kawhi [Leonard] would've been healthy last postseason, they would've beat Kevin Durant and the [Suns],” Perkins said. “But you added James Harden and I don't know how that's going to fit, but Tyronn Lue will figure it out. If I had to pick one, it's the Clippers over the Lakers.”

In head-to-head matchups in the past five seasons, the Clippers are 13-2 against the Lakers, so while Lakers fans might not like Perkins' thoughts, he's not entirely wrong based on the win-loss record. The Lakers however can prove that they're the big brother this season as their next matchup will be against the Clippers Wednesday night.