Former Lakers player Michael Hooper’s hate for the Celtics is very much still alive, evidenced in his recent rip of the Boston for the Kristaps Porzingis trade.
The five-time NBA champion was quick to admit Boston is still the team he “loves to hate” after being a mainstay during the Celtics-Lakers rivalry during the 1980s.
He didn’t hold back about his thoughts on the C’s acquiring Porzingis over the summer in a blockbuster three-team trade.
“The Boston Celtics take three steps back,” Cooper said on Showtime with Coop. “How do you do that? You lose Grant Williams. You f*ck around and lose Marcus Smart, your heart and soul of your team.”
He went on to get a bit more personal with the man everyone calls The Unicorn, who is already suffering injury problems and pulled out of representing Latvia in upcoming the FIBA World Cup because of it.
“Who the hell is he?,” Cooper said. “The one thing I’ll say about him is that he looks like a Celtic. That guy there was a flop in Dallas, was a flop in Washington. This guy was brought over from Europe. He is probably here to be a marquee player.”
The 67-year-old wasn’t done with the criticisms of his old rivals, and took to sharing his thoughts on the Jaylen Brown extension.
“I love Jaylen Brown, but I think he was over-signed,” Cooper said. “It’s going to cause a lot of turmoil. A great contract for him, but with big money, comes big responsibility.
“You can’t go hide and can’t go stand on the side, you can’t be missing shots.You can’t fake hurt. You’ve gotta play through some pain now.”
As for the Lakers offseason moves, no surprises Cooper was full of praise and thinks LA will continue to make some more solid signings throughout the season and affirmed “but it won’t be like the Celtics, throwing away a championship.”
