Kyrie Irving made waves over the weekend thanks to his efforts to cancel the rest of the NBA season in light of the social unrest and protests going on throughout the United States. Many players are on Kyrie's side when it comes to this issue while others think he is overreacting. Players like Danny Green and Austin Rivers think the players would be better off continuing the season and using their platforms in front of an enlarged audience.
During an appearance on CBS Sports' "The DA Show," former player Kendrick Perkins made his thoughts quite clear. Simply put, Perkins ripped Kyrie for his stance and claimed that just a few days ago, Irving wanted to be a part of the NBA's bubble city but was told no due to the fact that he's injured. Perkins also went on to say that Kyrie's voice won't make an impact on the NBA's decision.
“He’s not a powerful voice; he’s a popular voice,” Perkins said. “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."
These are pretty strong words although they're not surprising when you consider how vocal Perkins is as a commentator. Kyrie's sentiments are polarizing, to say the least, and only time will tell whether or not it really affects the reboot of the NBA season.
[Via]