Kyrie Irving Criticized For 'Disrespecting' Celtics As Potential Exit Looms

The Boston Celtics were knocked out of the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Milwaukee Bucks following their Game 5 loss on Wednesday night and Kyrie Irving has come in for a lot of criticism for not bringing his A-game to the table. The point guard was not at his best in four of the five games and former Celtic Kendrick Perkins has criticized his lack of leadership during the series and accused him of “disrespecting” the franchise and what it stands for.

The Celtics won Game 1 with an impressive performance and many expected them to beat the Bucks, who were the best team in the NBA, after the regular season or at least take them to Game 7. But they were convincingly beaten in the next four games as they were unable to stop MVP favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Irving was expected to step up in the playoffs and lead the team packed with talent but he was unable to lead by example, struggling offensively throughout the series. The Celtics point guard managed just 102 points from 104 shots while making just 7-of-32 from beyond the arc during the five games, but the criticism was targeted more toward his lack of leadership rather than his performances.

The 2016 NBA champion left the Cleveland Cavaliers in order to lead a team of his own and was given the opportunity with the Celtics, a team packed with young talent. In Irving’s absence, they made the Eastern Conference finals in 2018 and they were touted as the favorites with the six-time All-Star in the lineup.

But he failed to show up when it counted and Perkins was furious with Irving’s performance and believes he disrespected the franchise for his “don’t care attitude” toward the team’s struggles. The 2008 NBA champion with the Celtics also said Irving was certainly not “Batman” referring to his desire to be the leader.

“The way he went about it was disrespectful to the city of Boston, was disrespectful to the organization, and he didn’t represent what Celtics pride is all about,” Perkins said during his interview with FS1’s Colin Cowherd. “I spent my first 8 1/2 years of my career in Boston. Those fans are unbelievable. The organization is unbelievable. The history of the franchise in itself is unbelievable.”

“The way Kyrie went about it — ‘OK, yeah I struggled, OK on to the next game’ — kinda like the ‘I don’t care’ attitude. Basically throughout the whole process, I mean, I thought he had gotten it. But he was just a bad leader. And he didn’t represent what Celtic pride was about. It was proven that — in my opinion — he’s not a Batman,” he added.

Irving will now enter free agency in the summer and many are expecting him to leave the Celtics despite verbally committing to re-sign with the franchise prior to the start of the 2018-19 campaign. New York Knicks are said to be keen to sign the point guard, while rumors are also rife about a potential reunion with LeBron James in Los Angeles.