SFGATE's Gabe Fernandez on Kendrick Perkins manufacturing a contrarian take out of thin air.
In the grand scheme of things, it makes sense why this — “this” being the perpetually wrong Perkins presenting an audience with a word salad and an alleged point — happened. Contrarian opinions pay big bucks at outlets like ESPN, because of the ensuing conversation, social media interactions and whatever other asinine metrics it generates that media companies believe determines whether something is good for business or not.
Part of what helps make this approach work is the backing of others, so that contrarian opinions can have some sense of base legitimacy when the person making the point doesn’t have a whole lot to work off. This is why you see the tweet pushing out this hot take as “.@KendrickPerkins doesn't hold back on the Warriors” along with the flushed face emoji, and why everyone in the studio is gassing up a nonsensical argument that is rather easy to disprove.
However, the most important part of amplifying a contrarian take, something that has been very much overlooked in this situation, is that the take needs to be coherent. What Perkins said on national television was not that. What exactly are the Warriors being called out for here? That they’re upset one of their best players was booted from a playoff game for a call that even numerous NBA players found ridiculous? And the"victims" argument doesn't make any sense.