The Boston Celtics had invited several legends from the past to the event held to cele their 18th title on the opening night of the NBA but the missing figure from the event was 2008 champion Kendrick Perkins – and for a good reason too.
While Perkins has been a pundit for ESPN, he is a sight that is unwelcome by Celtics’ fans.
Perkins helped raise Banner 17 alongside Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
All of them, unlike Perkins, were part of the celebration. Since then, Perkins has been sidelined by the Celtics due to his live commentary.
It has escalated to the point where the former player was banned from the team.
“He was asking everyone for a seat at TD Garden so he could be present for this historic moment. He tried to mend a broken relationship but failed,” a source told Steve Brenner and David Scott of The US Sun.
In the last couple of seasons, the Celtics believe Perkins has gone over that line. The former player has been quite abusive to the organisation, to an extent of asking the Boston front office to break up Tatum and Brown, and recently doubting Mazzulla’s intelligence.
Durant another episode of NBA Countdown, Perkins even famously remarked that if a bird had Mazzulla’s brain, it would fly backward.
Also, it is with regret that former Perkins’ teammate, Brian Scalabrine, implied that Boston never wanted Perkins in the first place.
Scalabrine explained that Perkins is not embraced by the organisation fondly at the moment.
People are wondering what is happening behind the scenes, and even Perkins decided to leave a comment, suddenly calling Scalabrine a coward.
“Attempts were made in the weeks and even the day before opening night.” Brenner said.
“He tried to talk to people in the front office and see if some players would his presence, but no one would do that,” he added.
