At the 2024 ESPY Awards on Friday, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown declined an opportunity to elaborate on his displeasure with USA Basketball and Nike. While he had implied on social media that the shoe company had kept him off of Team USA, when Cam Newton brought up the subject in an interview on the red carpet, Brown said, “I don’t really got no comment. You know what I mean? I got my beautiful date right there.”
Newton then looked at the camera and said, “He’s trying to deflect, ladies and gentlemen.”
Shortly after Kawhi Leonard withdrew from Team USA on Wednesday, USA Basketball announced that Derrick White, one of Brown’s teammates with the 2024 champion Boston Celtics, would take his place on the roster ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games. Given the team’s specific needs and White’s skill set, the decision was not particularly difficult to comprehend. Nor was it surprising, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had reported on June 14 that White would be a likely replacement if Leonard couldn’t play.
Boston’s (and Team USA’s) Jayson Tatum said Wednesday that he hadn’t talked to Brown about it, via NBC Sports Boston. Asked if it was tough not to have Brown with him, Tatum said, “Yeah. I mean, it’s so many guys that could take that last spot or whatever. So, yeah, it is.”
Grant Hill, Team USA’s managing director, dismissed the “theories that might be out there” on Wednesday, via ESPN:
“You get 12 spots, and you have to build a team,” Hill said. “And one of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I’m a fan of that I look forward to watching throughout the season, throughout the playoffs. Guys who’ve been Finals MVPs, guys who’ve been a part of the program, guys who’ve won gold medals, guys who I respect, admire and enjoy watching. But the responsibility that I have is to put together a team and a team that complements each other, a team that fits a team that will give us the best opportunity for success.
“And, so, whatever theories that might be out there, they’re just that. But that’s my responsibility. And it’s tough. It’s tough to have conversations, tell people that they’re not on the team.
“I’m trying to win and I’m trying to put together the right pieces that fit and give us a chance to win.”
…
“I’ve been a big fan of Derrick’s, obviously. He just won a championship. One of the many things that I really love about Derrick, and particularly with his team, is I don’t feel like his role changes much with our team from what he does with the Celtics. He plays alongside two incredibly great young players in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. And this setting is hard when you come in and you’re the center of your universe, and now you have to establish a role, and it might be different than what you have to do with your team. And so to have someone who can come in and play off of guys, be complementary to some others, but then also stand out and be a dynamite defensive player, knock down shots, just impact winning.”
It’s understandable that Brown, a three-time All-Star and the reigning Finals MVP, feels snubbed. Given that White is his teammate, though, this is all a bit uncomfortable, isn’t it?
