This season, the Boston Celtics seemed to lack the grit and intensity that helped them thrive without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward during the 2018 NBA playoffs.
Could Kendrick Perkins help restore some of that killer instinct?
Perkins, who recently announced his retirement and since has made some media appearances, was very vocal about the Celtics during their second-round playoff exit, ripping Boston’s “selfish” performance against the Milwaukee Bucks and calling out Irving’s leadership.
Now, Perkins, who spent parts of eight seasons with the Celtics as a player (2003-11), is open to joining Brad Stevens’ staff, which has a vacancy in light of assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry leaving Boston to become the associate head coach at Purdue.
Here’s what Perkins said Thursday on “The Danny Picard Show” podcast:
Is this realistic? Who knows? But it’d be entertaining as hell.
Perkins was known for his toughness throughout his playing career, and the thought of him lighting a fire under whichever Celtics return to the locker room next season is very appealing after a 2018-19 campaign in which Boston failed to meet expectations largely because of the seemingly toxic environment surrounding the team.
It’s worth noting Stevens reportedly interviewed longtime NBA coach JB Bickerstaff on Wednesday night, so there might not be any fire to the Perk smoke, as fun as the idea is in theory.
