Draymond Green criticizes Jayson Tatum being benched by U.S. coach Steve Kerr – NBC Sports Bay Area & California
Like the rest of the basketball world, Warriors veteran Draymond Green was puzzled by Team USA coach Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Jayson Tatum during the Olympic team’s win over Serbia last Sunday in Paris.
And while Kerr, who also coached Green at Golden State, has previously said he felt like an “idiot” about the choice, his outspoken forward weighed in on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show.”
“Not playing (Tatum) was a mistake,” Green said (via Kristen Wong of SI.com). “We all know it was a mistake. He should have played. He didn’t. … What I don’t like about this is I feel like I’m trying to cover my tracks, to prove something, and Joel (Embiid) is out of the lineup. And then (Saturday), Jrue (Holiday) didn’t play. … From the outside looking in, it feels like we made a mistake as coaches.”
Tatum and Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton were the only players on Team USA who didn’t play a single minute in the 110-84 win over Serbia, and the Boston Celtics star denied rumors he was sick after the game. Kerr later confirmed that Tatum wasn’t benched due to any illness, saying the NBA champion sat out because Kerr “went with the combinations that made sense.”
“Every game is going to be different based on the matchups,” Kerr told ESPN’s Brian Windhorst after the game. “(Tatum is) a true pro, he’s been to the All-NBA first team three years in a row. I felt like an idiot not playing him, but you know, a 40-minute game, you can’t play with more than 10 (players). …
“(Tatum) will leave his mark. Our guys know the key to this is to put everything that happens in the NBA in the rearview mirror and just win six games. Jayson is the ultimate pro and the champion and he handled it well, and he’ll be ready for the next game.”
Tatum started Team USA’s next game against South Sudan. But as Green noted, Embiid didn’t play that game, which ultimately didn’t matter in the 103-86 blowout victory. Then, on Saturday, Tatum and Embiid both started in Team USA’s win over Puerto Rico, while Holiday missed the game with an ankle injury.
While Kerr certainly has his work cut out for him in figuring out rotations with his star-studded roster, Green offered some blunt advice to his coach and the rest of Team USA’s staff despite their undefeated record through the games so far.
“I’m sure part of it is you can rest your ankle a little bit, but also you don’t have to play anybody, and frankly, I don’t like that,” Green said. “You have to put out a rotation and stick with it. These teams aren’t good enough for us to try to match them. They have to match our lineup. … We have the best players in the world. We’ll be fine.”
Kerr, Tatum and Team USA will next face Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. PT.
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