Former Boston Celtics champion center Kendrick Perkins has found a new career in the media since retiring as a player, but even in that capacity his time as a Celtic is never far off in the minds of others.
So it was in a recent interview with Heavy.com’s Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson for the “Heavy Live With Scoop B” podcast that the Texas native ended up speaking on the still-ongoing rift between Banner 17 shooting guard Ray Allen and the rest of the team that won Boston’s last title over the way the UConn standout moved on in free agency to the Miami Heat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVYmG2nWM0E&feature=emb_logo
“Well you know, I wasn’t there when Ray left,” explained Perkins, “but I think a part of it is that guys said that Doc [Rivers, their coach] had Ray coming off the bench and I think Ray wasn’t pleased about it.
“I heard when he did join Miami, it was how he did it. He didn’t call anybody, he didn’t hit nobody up; the Celtics had an offer on the table for him, he just didn’t answer the phone. Next thing you know … bam! Everybody’s reading about Ray joining the Miami Heat and so people are like, ‘Got darn Ray! We done been through war together. We don’t get enough respect for you to hit us up?’ so after that, the guys were kinda like, ‘Nah. We cool on Ray.’”
Forward Paul Pierce and Allen have since made their peace, but much of the rest of the team remains alienated from their former comrade in arms over the tenor of his exit.
WATCH: Boston Celtics TD Garden team scrimmage highlights https://t.co/eCPjQ4NrpH
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 12, 2020
After nearly a decade has passed, you’d think tensions would calm and the former close-knit group would find a way to cherish the great things they did do together, but ultimately it is a choice for each player to make and live with.
In an age of player empowerment, such gripes seem almost a non-issue compared to the movement we see in the modern NBA, but then Kevin Garnett and the rest of that squad were a breed apart, even then.
[jwplayer pzPq4z0V]
[lawrence-related id=33420,32672,29695,29504]
[listicle id=43017]