Jaylen Brown's Team USA Hopes Rest on Star Player's Status
By Jovan Alford
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown caused a bit of a firestorm on social media earlier this week when it was announced that his teammate Derrick White would be the injury replacement for Kawhi Leonard on Team USA.
Brown, who played on the 2019 FIBA World Cup Team and helped lead the Celtics to a title this season, voiced his displeasure on social media. The Eastern Conference and NBA Finals MVP tweeted at Nike and sent cryptic messages about the decision.
Brown’s outspokenness about the decision on Twitter ultimately led to Team USA Director Grant Hill discussing the reasoning behind selecting White to replace Leonard.
Grant Hill on Jaylen Brown not replacing Kawhi Leonard: “For a good portion of my career, I wore FILA. That was supposed to be a joke. We’re proud of our partners at USA Basketball. This is about putting together a team… Whatever theories might be out there, they’re just that.” pic.twitter.com/gspr3ITZv7
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 11, 2024
Nonetheless, even though Brown hasn’t been happy about what has happened, there’s a small chance the All-Star wing could find himself on Team USA after all.
On Saturday, the Athletic’s Joe Vardon reported that Brown’s name could resurface as a replacement if Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant cannot play in the Olympics. Durant is still sidelined by a left calf strain that forced him to miss full-team practices and scrimmages.
The future Hall of Famer will not play in Team USA’s exhibition on Monday against Australia, but Team USA Steve Kerr doesn’t seem worried as he told reporters “We feel good that he’s going to be OK.”
However, if Durant isn’t ready to go by the time final rosters need to be submitted, Team USA might have to consider adding Brown to the team. The Celtics star cannot fill Durant’s role in the frontcourt, but he would give them another scorer and defender on the wing, which isn’t a bad addition.
Brown averaged 23 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists this past season with the Celtics. He also shot 49.9 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from beyond the arc. The 27-year-old wing also possessed an ORtg (offensive rating) of 113 and a DRtg (defensive rating) of 112.
While all those stats sound good, Team USA would still have to decide to call Brown to offer the spot and consequently send Durant home. Those are two tough decisions that Kerr and the rest of the Team USA staff will have to discuss over the next couple of weeks.
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