KENDRICK Perkins is unlikely to be welcomed back to the Boston Celtics following his criticism of the franchise, according to a source.
A current roster member told The US Sun that the ESPN star has no right to be upset about being excluded from the Celtics’ NBA title celebrations.
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Perkins was a hero in Boston after spending the first eight seasons of his NBA career with the Celtics and helping the team win the title in 2008.
But after his repeated barbs against the Celtics on ESPN in recent years, he has burned all bridges with the franchise.
“I mean, what did he expect?” said the source.
“He criticizes the franchise and the players, uses bad words to criticize the coach, the players and expects to be respected in return?
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“It doesn’t work like that, life doesn’t work like that. If you start a fire, expect to get burned.
“He’s come to try to play nice a lot of times, but I can call his bulls too quick, and that kind of behavior is very disrespectful.”
The source added that Perkins is even “hated” by some current players.
“We’re not stupid, we know the TV and the spotlight probably got into his head, but you can’t insult people and expect them to say hi to you or be nice to you,” the player added.
“I’m being polite, but there are other teammates of mine who hate him and have no respect for him.
“You can’t go on TV and insult people, calling them stupid and telling them they’re scared?
“Come on… I’m not the kind of guy who hates people, but Kendrick is someone I don’t respect.
“I don’t know if people here will forgive him, but I really don’t think he will be welcome at Celtic anymore.”
Perkins’ former teammate Brian Scalabrine recently revealed the ESPN analyst would not be in the team’s parade after last season’s triumph.
“It’s not really an open arms thing with Kendrick Perkins,” he said SiriusXM Radio.
And Perkins quickly responded to Scalabrine’s comments.
“I listened to Scalabrine the other day and I love Scal, but it irritated me,” Perkins told The Mark Jackson Show.
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“I never said I wanted to come! It wasn’t my moment, nor the 2008 moment. It was the 2024 moment. Let them have their moment.”
Perkins even labeled Scalabrine a “coward” following his comments during the celebrations.
“Was I the only member from 2008 who disappeared from the duck boat? No, I didn’t,” Perkins said. 98.5 Felger & Mazz from Sports Hub.
“[Eddie] House, my man, he was there. Leon Powe, my good friend too, was there.
“Scal was there and Paul [Pierce] it was there. There were still 11 others missing.”
Perkins was highly critical of the Celtics during the 2022 NBA Finals, which they lost to the Golden State Warriors.
“I have been one of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s biggest supporters since they alerted the world when Tatum was a rookie,” Big Perk continued.
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“And my problem is that in the last two years they have had their disappointments.
“Therefore, the criticism was justified. It wasn’t like I was just making it up.
“As far as [coach] Joe Mazzulla, I didn’t believe his system could do that.”
Perkins added: “Now I have nothing to say, I mean congratulations to them.
“But the thing is, Boston fans, they expect you to be married to them for life. Like a feeling of entitlement, like you owe them your life.
“And that’s not the case.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
