Kendrick Perkins quickly caught wind of Brian Scalabrine’s pre-Celtics parade comments, and issued a harshly-worded response toward his former Boston teammate who stood with the now-ESPN analyst following their NBA Finals victory back in 2008.
“Right now I feel like Scal is a coward,” Perkins explained during an appearance Monday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz” show.
Scalabrine, an analyst/commentator for the Celtics, was recently asked about Perkins’ absence from the 2024 title celebration. Yet, rather than sweeping the topic under the rug, Scalabrine opened the door for further conversation by implying that the organization itself isn’t on the greatest of terms with Perkins — who’s been very critical of the Celtics since joining ESPN.
“It’s not really an open-arms thing with Kendrick Perkins,” Scalabrine told NBA SiriusXM Radio’s “The Starting Lineup.”
The implications of that comment are pretty straightforward. Perkins doesn’t hold back when spewing critiques of the Celtics, once even going as far as to challenge the coaching intelligence of Joe Mazzulla. Perkins used to appear in the team’s pre- and postgame show, but didn’t make any appearances this season, which again, leaves the entire situation up for interpretation.
Perkins, who spent seven-plus seasons with the Celtics, confirmed that a duck boat invite never happened, but also that it doesn’t imply any bad blood.
“Was I the only 2008 member missing from the duck boat? No, I wasn’t,” Perkins continued. “(Eddie) House, my guy, he was there. Leon Powe, great friend of mine as well, he was there. Scal was there and Paul (Pierce) was there. There was still 11 other guys missing. And to be honest with you, if I would’ve gotten an invite, which I didn’t — I didn’t know we was supposed to — but anyways, nine times out of 10, I would’ve turned it down. … That’s not our moment. That’s 2024’s moment. Let those guys have their moment.”
Moving forward, Perkins would like to speak with Scalabrine. Perkins claimed phone calls were made, but the two have yet to speak 1-on-1.
“Right now, I feel like you’re ducking me,” Perkins said. “I got a problem with that. We can’t have a grown-man conversation?”
