Former NBA big man Kendrick Perkins has never shied away from bashing Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving, and that trend continued on Monday.
During an appearance on “The DA Show,” Perkins called out Irving for “causing unnecessary drama” in the NBA's plan to restart the 2019-20 season.
Irving told players on a conference call last Friday that he doesn't support the season restarting in Orlando because of the racial injustices in America following the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of policemen.
Perkins says no matter what Irving says, the 2019-20 season is going to resume since guys like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo want to play again:
“He’s not a powerful voice; he’s a popular voice,” Kendrick Perkins said of Kyrie Irving on The DA Show.
“There’s a difference between being powerful and popular. Powerful, you’re actually moving the needle. No one is listening to Kyrie. The NBA is going to continue. All he’s doing is causing unnecessary drama between the NBA brothers that we don’t need right now. Him lashing out is just making news and making a whole bunch of noise for nothing because the NBA season is going to happen. LeBron James wants to play. Chris Paul wants to play. Russell Westbrook wants to play. Anthony Davis, Giannis – when they first voted for the NBA to come back, the vote was 28-0. Everybody wants to play.
“Right now, all Kyrie is doing is just trying to throw a wrench in something, but he don’t have the power to do so. When you’re powerful, you actually move the needle. Kyrie is not moving the needle. All he’s doing is ruffling the feathers for no reason. The NBA is going to continue.”
Perkins also went on “Golic and Wingo” and effectively called out Irving for flip-flopping his stance on the NBA returning (h/t Pro Basketball Talk):
“What changed over the last nine, 10 days? What changed was – from what I strongly believe and what I heard – is that the NBA and the players’ association told Kyrie that, no, you can’t go.”
Irving and Dwight Howard currently believe if the NBA comes back, it will take all the attention off the Black Lives Matter movement and the racial injustices in America.
22 teams are set to play in the “bubble” games at Walt Disney World. However, after Friday’s call where Irving and other players voiced their concerns about playing again, it’s not entirely certain that the 2019-20 season will resume despite what Perkins is saying.
However, NBA owners are likely going to do whatever it takes to play again, and the majority of players supposedly want to play as well. Multiple reports have said the NBA could lose around $1 billion if the campaign gets canceled altogether.
Follow Us
Subscribe