Draymond Slams Kerr and U.S. Coaching Staff for Benching Tatum originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Like the rest of the basketball world, Warriors veteran Draymond Green was intrigued by Team USA coach Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Jayson Tatum in the Olympic team’s victory over Serbia last Sunday in Paris.
And although Kerr, also Green’s coach at Golden State, has already said that I felt like an “idiot” for the choice, his outspoken attacker gave his opinion on the last episode of “The Draymond Green show.”
“Do not play [Tatum] was wrong,” said Green (Kristen Wong of h/t SI.com). “We all know it was wrong. He should have played. He doesn’t… What I don’t like about it is that now to me it feels like I’m covering my tracks, proving a one-off kind of thing to where, oh, now Joel [Embiid] is out of the lineup. And then [Saturday]Jrue [Holiday] I didn’t play… From the outside, it looks like: ‘We made a mistake as a coaching staff.’ ”
Tatum and Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton were the only players on Team USA who did not log any minutes in the 110-84 victory over Serbia, and the Boston Celtics star denied rumors that he was ill after the game . Kerr later confirmed that Tatum was not benched due to any illness, stating that the NBA champion sat because Kerr “went with the combinations that made sense.”
“Each game will be different based on the matchups,” Kerr said ESPN’s Brian Windhorst after the game. “[Tatum is] A total pro, he’s made the NBA’s first team three years in a row. I felt stupid for not playing him, but you know, 40 minute game, you can’t play more than 10 [players]. …
“[Tatum will] leave your mark. Our guys know the key to all of this is to put all the NBA stuff in the rearview mirror and just win six games. Jayson is the best professional and champion and he handled it well and will be ready for the next game.”
Tatum started Team USA’s next game against South Sudan. But, as Green noted, Embiid didn’t see the floor in that game, which ultimately didn’t matter in the 103-86 victory. Then on Saturday, Tatum and Embiid started in Team USA’s victory over Puerto Rico, while Holiday missed the game with a reported ankle injury.
While Kerr certainly has his work cut out for him to work through the rotations with his star-studded squad, Green offered some blunt advice to his coach and the rest of the U.S. team despite his undefeated record throughout games thus far.
“I’m sure it’s part ‘Can we rest our ankle for a bit,’ but it’s part ‘We shouldn’t play someone,’ and frankly, I don’t like that,” Green said. rotation and stick with it. These teams are not good enough for us to try to match their lineup. They had to match our lineup… We have the best players in the world. We’ll be fine.”
Kerr, Tatum and Team USA will face Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. PT.
