With the Team USA men's basketball team kicking off their bid for the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics with a slew of exhibition games, starting with one against Team Canada on Wednesday night, they had to move quickly in the aftermath of Kawhi Leonard's withdrawal from the team.
The committee quickly decided on Boston Celtics guard Derrick White as Leonard's replacement, and in the process, raised a few eyebrows, including that of Jaylen Brown's.
Brown posted a few tweets that seemed to suggest that he wasn't exactly pleased that he was overlooked yet again in the Team USA roster selection process. Many fans also wondered why managing director Grant Hill and company decided not to include the 2024 NBA Finals MVP on the team that will be flying to Paris for the Olympic Games.
The outcry reached the point where Hill had to set the record straight and explain Team USA's rationale for having Derrick White as their first choice to replace Kawhi Leonard.
“You get 12 spots. You have to build a team. One of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I'm a fan of, guys who's been Finals MVPs, guys who've been a part of the program. But the responsibility I have is to put together a team and a team that complements each other, a team that fits, a team that gives us the best opportunity for success,” Hill said.
Grant Hill also shut down the insinuations of Jaylen Brown that, because he's not a Nike athlete, he's not the preferred guy to join the team in Paris.
“For a good portion of my career, I wore Fila. That was supposed to be a joke. … This is about putting together a team. You have incredible interest from an abundance of talent that we have here in the United States. … I'm trying to win, and I'm trying to put together the right pieces that fit and give us a chance to win,” Hill added.
Whatever the case may be, expect Jaylen Brown to continue using this snub as fuel to improve his game even further.
With LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry in their late-30s, a few spots should open up for Brown on the Team USA roster moving forward, as long as this little outward show of discontent doesn't sully the Celtics star in the eyes of Grant Hill and the rest of the selection committee.
Did Team USA make the right choice in choosing Derrick White over Jaylen Brown?
National team selection committees usually prioritize players with prior experience playing for the national team, but this isn't the factor that differentiated Derrick White from Jaylen Brown, seeing as both of them were part of the Team USA squad that disappointed in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
In the end, it was clear that Grant Hill and company opted for someone who is more of a role player. While it feels unfair to call White as such, the Celtics guard is one of the best support players in the association. He defends as well as any guard in the NBA, as he has been one of the best guard shot-blockers throughout his time in the league.
In FIBA competition where guard play and outside shooting reign supreme, having White as another stifling point-of-attack defender alongside his backcourt mate on the Celtics in Jrue Holiday was a no-brainer for Team USA.
White has also developed his 3-point shot to the point where he is one of the best floor-spacing guards in the Association — a must for Team USA to have alongside ball-dominant players such as Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Edwards, among others.
He made 2.7 threes per game last season on a 39.6 percent clip, and he finished the season with 196 made triples.
In a vacuum, Jaylen Brown is the better player than White. Brown has more off-the-bounce pop, and he is one of the best slashers in the league. However, Brown needs more of the ball in his hands to flourish, unlike White, who is content to keep the ball moving and just shooting when wide open.
Also, Brown is a worse 3-point shooter than White, which definitely played a factor in Team USA's decision. Brown shot 35.4 percent from three last season on 5.9 attempts per game, and he would not have provided the same value as White does off the ball.
Brown may have plenty of reasons in his mind for why Team USA passed up on adding him to the roster, but the simplest explanation captures the reality of the situation — White is simply a better fit for the team as presently constructed, basketball-wise.
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