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Golden State Warriors star forward Draymond Green did not agree with Steve Kerr’s controversial decision to bench Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum in Team USA’s opening game in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“No one cares who played the minutes,” Green said on his eponymous podcast on Saturday, August 3. “Did you win a gold medal or did you not? That’s what it boils down to. However, you don’t not play Jason Tatum. That man just won an NBA championship. He’s on the cover of NBA 2K, cover of Sports Illustrated. He just signed the biggest contract in NBA history.”
Kerr explained that Tatum was bumped off the rotation because of Kevin Durant‘s return from injury.
“It’s really hard in a 40-minute game to play more than 10 guys, and with Kevin (Durant) coming back, I just went to the combinations that I felt would make the most sense,” Kerr said, per Patriot Ledger.
But Green did not accept his Warriors coach’s decision about the Team USA’s rotation.
“Not playing [Tatum] was wrong,” the Warriors mercurial forward. “We all know it was wrong. He should’ve played.”
Green believed Tatum’s benching set off the chain of sitting out a Team USA player every game during the group play.
“What I don’t like about it is, now to me it feels like a covering my tracks, proving a point type of thing to where, oh now Joel [Embiid] is out of the lineup,” Green said. “And then today, Jrue [Holiday] didn’t play… From the outside looking in, it comes off as, ‘We made a mistake as a coaching staff.’
I’m sure it’s part of ‘We can rest the ankle a little bit’, but it’s part of ‘We gotta not play somebody.’ And quite frankly, I don’t like it.”
Draymond Green Call on Steve Kerr to Stick to a Regular Rotation
Green, who has played for Kerr since he took over the Warriors bench in 2014, clamored for a regular rotation for Team USA as they go to the medal round.
“Come out with a rotation and stick with it,” Green said. “These teams aren’t good enough to where we’re trying to match their lineup. They gotta match our lineup… We got the best players in the world. We’ll be fine.”
Kerr, however, has tuned out the outside noises and will stick to his game plan that has worked well with Team USA clinching the top spot heading into the quarterfinal round.
“They’re pros & committed to each other. … I don’t read social media,” Kerr said on July 31, per Washington Post’s Ben Golliver. “I would hope our guys aren’t paying too much attention to that. That’s a regular season thing where the soap opera can carry the ratings. Here, it’s just win a damn gold.”
ESPN Insider Defends Steve Kerr’s Team USA Rotation Decision
Kerr has a staunch supporter in ESPN’s NBA insider Brian Windhorst, who’s covering the Team USA in Paris.
“He’s not going to care if a player gets upset or if a player isn’t thrilled because he doesn’t have to worry about a player asking for a trade, or getting re-signed, or going to his agent,” Windhorst said on “Get Up” on August 1.
“And I’m gonna tell you right now, Steve Kerr is dropping aces,” added Windhorst. “All of his game plans are working. His lineup changes have worked. Even Derrick White, the player who was criticized for replacing Kawhi Leonard instead of Jaylen Brown; he’s played two brilliant games. He’s +33. Steve Kerr is on a hot streak right now, if you’re criticizing him, you’re in a bad spot.”
With different starting lineups, Team USA breezed past through the group play with an average winning margin of 21.3 points.
Kerr hopes to keep Team USA rolling in the knockout rounds, beginning on Tuesday, August 6, against Brazil in the quarterfinals.
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