Kendrick Perkins admits he was upset Joe Mazzulla didn’t invite him to be around the Celtics

After essentially calling Joe Mazzulla a bird brain, Kendrick Perkins reveals that he was left off of the coach’s email list.

 

Kendrick Perkins said he heard and enjoyed Joe Mazzulla’s response to his bird brain comments last month.

Following the Celtics home loss to the Nuggets on Jan. 19, Perkins said if someone were to take Mazzulla’s brain and put it in a bird, the bird would fly backwards.

Mazzulla responded with a subtle jab of his own, telling reporters that he was unable to provide an injury report because he was a “bird brain.”

“I haven’t spoke with Joe Mazzulla, but let me say this,” Perkins said during an appearance on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show. “I actually love Joe Mazzulla and him firing back. It’s a good thing. He’s actually embracing that, and all I’m doing right now is prepping him for what’s to come.”

“You hit adversity, especially in the city of champions: Boston,” Perkins added. “I played there for eight-and-a-half years. They’re going to hit adversity and the media is going to attack him, the fanbase is going to attack him throughout a seven game series, and he needs to be prepared for that.”

Perkins also admitted that he was upset about not getting an invite from Mazzulla to be around the team.

Mazzulla said in October that he reached out to former players via email so they could share in this season’s experience together. Former players such as Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo have been spotted at Celtics practices this season.

“I didn’t receive the email that everybody else got,” Perkins said. “I didn’t get the email at the beginning of the season. I kind of felt in my feelings because I do have a great relationship with my guy (Celtics governor) Wyc Grousbeck. He actually came to my wedding.

“I saw (Grousbeck) about seven months ago when I dropped my book. He came to my book release that I did in New York,” Perkins added. “He’s a great brother and a great friend of mine, and me and him always go back and forth text messages because he may not like some of the things I say but that’s the relationship that we have. But, I didn’t get the invite and I must say: I was in my (expletive) feelings.”

Despite his feelings, Perkins said he still expects the Celtics to reach the NBA Finals this year.

“I still have a job to do, and I have to be unbiased,” Perkins said. “So when I think about what I’ve been seeing from the Celtics right now, first of all, they’re going to win the Eastern Conference. I don’t think it’s even close to be honest with you.”

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