Last year, we saw Kendrick Perkins’ back and forth with the Inside the NBA crew. Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal called the ESPN broadcaster a fool, roach, and even used his photograph as a target during their boxing drill. Mind you, this all was on live TV. Now, his beef is with the Ringer founder over the NBA media coverage. Seemingly in this rant, Cooper Flagg became a support that the Celtics legend used as he continued his shot at Bill Simmons.
On Road Trippin’ YouTube channel, where Perkins is one of the co-hosts of the pod, he spoke at length and addressed his issues. The 12-minute response came after an initial social media post in which the 2008 NBA champion questioned Simmons’ resume in basketball. “My problem with you is who the f— gave you the keys and said you was the gatekeeper for the game of basketball?” But Kendrick Perkins wasn’t done. If Simmons can question Big Perk’s analysis, then the Celtics legend had a teaching lesson.
“We saw so many people just like just feeling it. We saw the whole time of Cooper Flagg by the way shout out Marty for going down there to Maine and visiting with Cooper Flagg’s people.” In the video, Perkins spoke about the emotional setting in the draft when those prospects’ dreams to play in the league come to fruition. ESPN’s Marty Smith was in Flagg’s hometown of Maine to cover the reactions of the people, the Mavs rookie grew up around. The Grove in Newport hosted an NBA Draft watch party Wednesday night to celebrate local superstar Cooper Flagg.
Kendrick Perkins continued, “And getting, you know, just getting like you know, talking to the people about their relationships with Cooper. And not just as a basketball player, and how a great individual he is. That’s covering the game, that’s how you cover the game.” A not-so-subtle shot at Simmons, who was previously called out as a gatekeeper.
Origins of the beef and Kendrick Perkins receiving support from his co-host
Not agreeing on a point can lead to a heated debate. Case in point, the Kendrick Perkins-Bill Simmons beef. It all started when the Ringer founder dismissed Perkins’ analysis of the Raptors draft pick. They took Collin Murray-Boyles, and Perk said they had the pieces to be a top-six team in the East. Which led to Simmons’ rant. “I didn’t know which telecast to watch. It was like, do I take this samurai sword and jam it into my temple or do I take this chainsaw and saw my leg off? I couldn’t figure it out.”
Then Kendrick Perkins put out a video on his official X page. One social media user criticized Perkins himself by saying “This guy doesn’t even have his own pod to sling shit on talking about getting his own episode on Richard Jefferson’s pod ”. That’s when Richard Jefferson stepped in being the co-host of the Road Trippin podcast. Apart from Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins, Channing Fyre and Allie Clifton complete the quartet.
“Perk is family at @RoadTrippinPod… we split dollars evenly ain’t that right @RealAClifton @channingfrye. Been that way since day 1. Everyone makes the same and carries the same weight. Ok maybe @KendrickPerkins carries a little more ” wrote Jefferson in response. Roasting your friend while having their back is what friendships are all about. After the Celtics legend’s 12-minute rant, let’s see if Simmons responds in any manner.
The post Kendrick Perkins Drags Cooper Flagg Only to Fire Back at Bill Simmons appeared first on EssentiallySports.
