Kyrie Irving has never found a topic he couldn’t weigh in on, but is that hurting his reputation when it comes to his opinion on the NBA’s potential return this summer?
Kendrick Perkins seems to think so.
Irving raised some eyebrows and ruffled some feathers Friday night when he reportedly spoke up and spoke out in a union conference call against the NBA’s return-to-play initiative. The Brooklyn Nets star instead believes the league and players’ efforts should be focused on trying to improve race relations in America amid recent social unrest — all with a generational, worldwide pandemic serving as a background.
“I don’t support going into Orlando,” Irving told his peers on the call, per The Athletic. “I’m not with systematic racism and the (expletive). Something smells a little fishy.”
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Perkins, however, isn’t buying what Irving’s selling. In a Monday morning appearance on “The DA Show,” Perkins accused Irving of making hollow remarks.
“He’s not a powerful voice; he’s a popular voice,” Perkins said on CBS Sports Radio. “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 seasons 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.”
The former NBA center continued, alleging Irving is “just trying to throw a wrench in something” and “ruffling feathers for no reason.”
It’s going to be fascinating to see what the NBA does in the coming weeks and months. Irving certainly isn’t alone; Dwight Howard also expressed concerns about playing basketball at a time like this. But, as Perkins noted, there are also plenty of players who do want to return — assuming it’s safe to do so.
There are a lot of considerations still to be made, and it’s becoming abundantly clear there’s no course of action the NBA can take to satisfy everyone. It’s safe to say, however, Perkins doesn’t believe Irving’s voice should be amplified much further.
