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 in the Olympic squad's victory over Serbia last Sunday in Paris.
And while Kerr, also Green's coach with Golden State, already said he felt like an "idiot" for the choice, his outspoken forward offered an opinion on the latest episode of "The Draymond Green Show."
“Not playing [Tatum] was wrong,” Green said (h/t SI.com's Kristen Wong). “We all know it was wrong. He should’ve played. He didn’t … 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. And then [Saturday], Jrue [Holiday] didn’t play… From the outside looking in, it comes off as, ‘We made a mistake as a coaching staff.’ ”
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Tatum and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton were the only Team USA players to not log any minutes in the 110-84 win over Serbia, and the Boston Celtics star denied rumors he was ill after the game. Kerr later confirmed Tatum wasn't benched due to any sickness, stating the NBA champion sat because Kerr "went with the combinations that made sense."
"Every game's going to be different based on matchups," Kerr told ESPN's Brian Windhorst after the game. "[Tatum is] a total pro, he's First-Team All-NBA three years in a row. I felt like an idiot not playing him, but you know, 40-minute game, you can't play more than 10 [players]. ...
"[Tatum will] make his mark. Our guys know the key to this whole thing is to put all the NBA stuff in the rearview mirror and just win six games. Jayson is the ultimate pro and champion and he handled it well, and he's going to be ready for the next game."
Tatum started Team USA's following game against South Sudan. But as Green noted, Embiid didn't see the floor that game, which ultimately didn't matter in the 103-86 blowout win. Then, on Saturday, both Tatum and Embiid were in the starting lineup in Team USA's win over Puerto Rico, while Holiday missed the game with a reported ankle injury.
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While Kerr certainly has his work cut out for him in working 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 throughout the games so far.
“I’m sure it’s part 'We can rest the ankle a little bit,' but it’s part 'We got to not play somebody,' and quite frankly, I don’t like it," Green said. "Come out with a rotation and stick with it. These teams aren’t good enough to where we’re trying to match their lineup. They got to match our lineup … We got the best players in the world. We’ll be fine.”
Kerr, Tatum and Team USA next face Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Paris Games on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. PT.
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