Kendrick Perkins was a part of the Boston Celtics' title-winning team in 2007-08. But after he left the team via trade ahead of the 2011 NBA trade deadline, the wheels started to fall off for the franchise.
Without Perkins at center, the 2011 C's couldn't do much in the postseason, as the aging O'Neals — Shaquille and Jermaine — couldn't hold up at center. The core players lasted together for another season after that, but a seven-game defeat in the Eastern Conference Finals at the hands of the Miami Heat broke up the "Big Three" for good.
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In a recent appearance on the "Runnin' Plays" Podcast from NBC Sports Bay Area, Perkins discussed the departure of Ray Allen from the Celtics. And he spoke about why he doesn't believe the beef between Allen and Kevin Garnett will ever be solved.
As Perkins explains, the discord among the parties can be traced back to the role Allen played during the 2011-12 season, and how his behavior after the C's lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals rubbed some the wrong way.
What happened was this. So, Ray during that time wasn't happy because Doc made him the sixth man. He made him come off the bench. He wasn't happy about that. And, during that time, Boston had taken a 3-2 lead over Miami... they go to Game 7, they lose in Game 7.
But guys felt like Ray wasn't all the way in. And guys saw Ray talking to 'Bron and some of the Heat players after the game. And the way they was rocking it at the time, if you wasn't Celtics ... Our locker room wasn't open for people to walk in, none of that.
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And while Allen's seeming lack of buy-in at the end of the playoffs was a problem for the Celtics team, his actions during the 2012 offseason were really what did in his relationship with the team, as Perkins detailed.
During that summer, Danny had a deal on the table for two years, $12 million, $6 million a year for Ray. Ray wasn't calling nobody, he wasn't answering his phone. Then all of a sudden, he signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Heat. Right? So it's like a slap in the face with no warning, no nothing. It's like, what? That's how you rockin' Ray? And all of the sudden, with KG, that was it.
I know one thing with KG. It ain't no in-between with KG. He either don't like you, or he love you to death. That's just how it is.
It's easy to see why Garnett and Co. would hold a bit of grudge. Allen wasn't buying in, or at least his teammates didn't think he was, and then left to go to the team that beat the Celtics on a deal that was half as valuable as what the C's were offering. As Perkins put it, there was "no loyalty."
Perhaps Garnett and the C's feel that Allen's departure cost them a shot at another title. They struggled to a 41-40 regular season recording during the 2012-13 season and had trouble finding a true replacement for Allen, as Courtney Lee and Jason Terry largely didn't work out as big-name acquisitions for the C's. And after that, the team was officially broken up when Garnett and Pierce were traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
We'll see if Allen and Garnett ever reconcile. Tony Allen was hopeful that something could reunite the whole team in the future, but based on Perk's account of events, it doesn't sound like Allen and Garnett will be making up any time soon.
For more of Perkins' interview including his thoughts about being traded and a wild Kevin Garnett story, check out the "Runnin' Plays" Podcast from NBC Sports Bay Area.