Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown recently expressed his discontent with Grant Hill’s remarks regarding the decision to replace Kawhi Leonard with Derrick White (instead of Brown) on the USA Basketball men’s national team for the upcoming Paris Olympics.
In an interview on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Hill, the managing director of Team USA, addressed the roster choice. He mentioned that he had communicated with Brown’s agent about the decision. Hill stated, “I don’t know if that was before or after things went out on Twitter, but yeah, I mean, I think this idea that there’s a conspiracy theory — I always love a good conspiracy theory, but it was really, truly a basketball decision. These are tough decisions, but having gone through this with the FIBA competition, you want to find the right balance and the right pieces on the court that we needed. And not to say that he wouldn’t have been good — there’s a lot of guys, you could go on a list of guys who are very capable and very qualified, but, for where we were, it was the right decision. And Derrick White, I think, will help us as we pursue gold.”
No way anybody can look at this and say Jaylen Brown doesn’t have a legitimate grievance pic.twitter.com/8jxbid8DzU
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) July 28, 2024
Following the announcement, Brown’s social media activity suggested he believed Nike influenced the decision. At the ESPY Awards on July 11, he declined to provide details, and at the summer league in Las Vegas on July 15, when directly asked if the shoe company had a role in his exclusion, he responded, “I do, for sure,” hinting at more revelations to come but refraining from further comment at the time.
Hill’s comments to Dan Patrick echoed his earlier statements to reporters in Vegas on July 10. He explained the complexity of building a balanced team with only 12 spots available and the difficulty of leaving talented players off the roster. He emphasized that these decisions are made to create a team that complements each other and maximizes the chances of success.
In the interview with Patrick, Hill elaborated on the basketball reasons for choosing White over Jaylen Brown. He mentioned that if coach Steve Kerr intended to pair Bam Adebayo with Anthony Davis in the frontcourt, adding a guard like White made more sense. Hill detailed the process, explaining that during training camp, with Kevin Durant recovering from a calf injury and Jayson Tatum arriving late, the team experimented with Adebayo and Davis playing together. This combination worked well defensively, prompting a shift in roster strategy. Hill noted, “We learned something about our group during those four days in Vegas.”
“I thought this was great for our team. To be able to feel the pressure was important.”
-Grant Hill on what he was think when the US was down 16 to South Sudan#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/37E2LiEhIQ
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 26, 2024
Hill explained that with a logjam at the 4 positions and the need for strong point-of-attack defense, White was a strategic choice. He highlighted White’s defensive prowess, which was crucial for the team’s game plan, especially given the injuries sustained during camp.
Before this decision, White had already been on USA Basketball’s radar. On June 14, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that White was a potential replacement for Leonard.
Comments