Former Celtics guard Eddie House and Kendrick Perkins had their very own roast of Nets guard Kyrie Irving after Boston swept Brooklyn in their first-round NBA playoff series.
House and Perkins took issue with Irving’s comments after the Nets’ 116-112 loss in Monday’s Game 4, in which the point guard discussed himself and Kevin Durant “managing this franchise together alongside [Nets owner] Joe [Tsai] and [general manager] Sean [Marks]” in the offseason.
“As soon as he started talking, for the first minute I muted it,” Perkins said during an appearance on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame show on Monday. “He said a whole lot of nothing. Talking about the direction that they’re going in and things to that nature. No. You and Kevin Durant wanted to come together to the Brooklyn Nets to do one thing, and one thing only, and that was to come in and compete for a championship. Not get swept. Not throwing people under the bus. Not say we’re looking forward to the offseason, making some adjustments.”
House went on to agree with Perkins — with whom he won a championship in 2008 — and explained that Irving needs to focus on the game, while allowing the front office to handle business.
“He talked in so many circles, I started to get dizzy. I’m thinking to myself, ‘Man, hold up,’” House said. “He’s going here, he’s going there and then he’s trying to downplay stuff. So that’s what I don’t like. Don’t try to downplay it. Y’all came here, y’all got whooped. [The Celtics] had a game plan, y’all couldn’t figure it out. They smacked y’all. [The Celtics] smacked y’all.
“Don’t try to start, ‘Oh the team ain’t been together.’ Well, whose fault was that? You [were] part of that. You [were] the reason — and I’m not here to judge no man on what decision he wants to make for his life. But at the same time, you affected your team not being together. Then you [talk about] ‘Oh, the heavy lifting.’ What heavy lifting [did you do]? You played 29 games, brother. I mean, come on. Who created all that extra heavy lifting? You, Kyrie Irving.”
Irving averaged 27.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.8 assists while shooting 46.9 percent from the floor and 41.8 percent from deep in 29 games.
“So at the end of the day, don’t get on here and start trying to talk with the slouch and get to talking sad and then talking about upper management. … Don’t talk about upper management and all this and that,” House said. “Because whatever y’all [are] doing, y’all need to stop and let the people upstairs handle [their] business, and y’all need to handle the business on the court. Because y’all just got molly whopped.”
Irving made his debut at Barclays Center last month after he missed nearly every home game this season due to New York’s COVID-19 restrictions.
The All-Star guard, who has refused to receive a vaccination against coronavirus, was able to return as a full-time player after New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced last month that the city will relax its COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
After Monday’s game, Irving didn’t reflect on that part of the season, but focused instead on preparation for next season.
“When I say I’m here with Kev [Durant], I think that really entails us managing this franchise together alongside [Nets owner] Joe [Tsai] and [general manager] Sean [Marks] and just our group of family members that we have in our locker room and our organization,” Irving said Monday when asked about his future with the Nets.
“It’s not just about me and Kev, I don’t want to make it just about that. We’re cornerstones here. We have Ben [Simmons], we have a few other guys that are under contract. We’ve just got to make some moves this offseason, really talk about it, and really be intentional about what we’re building.”
When asked about a potential contract extension with Brooklyn, Irving said, “I don’t really plan on going anywhere. Like I said this is added motivation for our franchise to be at the top of the league for the next few years. I’m just looking forward to the summer and just building with our guys here.”
Irving has a $36.5 million player option for the 2022-23 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
The seven-time All-Star signed a four-year, $141 million deal with the Nets before the 2019-20 season to join Durant in pursuit of winning a championship in Brooklyn.
The Nets have not reached the Eastern Conference Finals in the three seasons Irving and Durant have been together — though, Durant did not play in the 2019-20 season after he suffered an achilles tendon injury in the NBA Finals in 2019.
