Despite coaching Team USA to an Olympic gold medal this summer, Steve Kerr caught plenty of flak for Jayson Tatum's limited playing time throughout the tournament.
Even Draymond Green and Tatum's mother called out the Warriors' four-time NBA champion coach.
Now, ESPN's resident take-maker, Stephen A. Smith, has added to the criticism of Kerr's lineups.
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"Steve Kerr is one of the greatest ever," Smith proclaimed on Monday's episode of "The Stephen A. Smith Show." "But I don't give a damn what anybody says: There's no excuse to not play Jayson Tatum in two games."
Again, Team USA did end up winning gold, so it's not like Kerr's decisions caused the group to lose even one game. Nevertheless, the "First Take" host wasn't thrilled with Tatum's infrequent minutes, including a DNP in the semifinal against Serbia.
"The thing that was most egregious about what Steve Kerr did with Jayson Tatum was admitting that he went to him before one of the games -- I believe it was against Serbia -- and said to him, 'It's going to be difficult for us to find you minutes tonight,' " Smith continued.
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"Jayson Tatum is one of the greatest players in the NBA, one of the greatest players in the world. ... How in God's name could you justify not finding minutes for Jayson Tatum in any game?"
For the entire Olympics, Tatum ranked 10th on the team in points per game (5.3) on just 41.2-percent shooting from the field. That's more than only Derrick White and Tyrese Haliburton on the USA roster.
"Steve Kerr is to be not just respected but revered," Smith concluded, "but that doesn't mean he's perfect. I just think that's a hard pill to swallow. If I was Jayson Tatum, I'd never look at him the same."
Though this drama likely will have no direct impact on the Warriors, there could be some fallout regarding Kerr's involvement with Team USA in the future.
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