As the “DNP” of Jayson Tatum against Serbia, to compare for example with the 15 minutes of his teammate at the Celtics, Derrick WhiteTeam USA can no longer simply put the best American players on the court at international competitions.
Steve Kerr and his staff must think of the selection as a real team, with its roles and complementarities. In particular with players capable of being effective, in attack and defense, without seeing the ball too much.
A sports analysis that Jaylen Brown does not subscribe to at all, the MVP of the last Finals having thus accused Nike (which he has criticized several times in the past) of being at the origin of his absence for the Paris Olympics.
“I spoke to his agent about it.” explained Grant Hill, the boss of USA Basketball, on the Dan Patrick Show in recent days. “I don't remember if it was before or after things came out on Twitter, but this idea that there is a conspiracy theory… I also appreciate a good conspiracy theory, but in this case, it was a purely sporting decision, because there are difficult choices to make. We've been there before in FIBA, and you have to find the right balance, and the right pieces, on the court, at the right time.”
“I have been vice-president (of the players' union) since I was 21 and I understand very well (what is happening)”
Derrick White seemed to be the logical replacement for Kawhi Leonard for a long time in the eyes of Team USA, while Steve Kerr wanted another defender on the back lines, to replace Jrue Holiday against the fast playmakers that the United States might come across (Dennis Schröder, Jamal Murray, etc.).
“I'm not saying he (Jaylen Brown) wouldn't have been good” Grant Hill continued. “There's a lot of guys we could have turned to, very talented guys, very, very skilled. But from our standpoint, it was the right decision. I think Derrick White is really going to help us win the gold medal.”
Not enough to change Jaylen Brown's mind, who responded again on Twitter.
“For Grant Hill to call me a conspiracy theorist is disappointing. I've been vice president (of the players' union) since I was 21 and I understand (what's going on) very well.” he thus posted, before sharing again a thread on Nike's influence at the Olympics, from Michael Jordan to the famous Reebok logo story.
