After Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the Boston Celtics to their 18th NBA title in June, Team USA fans expected them to become key figures in the Paris Olympic roster. However, things didn’t go as planned. Brown was left off the team entirely, and Tatum faced limited playing time throughout the tournament.
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The situation has now prompted Gilbert Arenas to see ulterior motives in how the two Celtics stars were treated during the Olympics.
The 3x All-Star ended up reaching the conclusion that there’s a conspiracy to disrupt the Celtics’ championship roster’s chemistry. On Gil’s Arena, Arenas said,
“Man, they breaking this team up. Have you ever seen a championship team being dissected the way it has?”
Arenas substantiated his stance by pointing to the management’s mistreatment of Brown. He reminded everyone how the 2024 Finals MVP was overlooked even after Kawhi Leonard withdrew his participation from the Olympics. They made matters worse by calling up the 27-year-old’s Celtics teammate, Derrick White, as a replacement.
Things continued to worsen for Brown. His courtside appearance during a Summer League game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Celtics drew negative attention. The 2024 champion was allegedly caught criticizing LeBron James’ eldest son, Bronny, saying, “I don’t think Bronny is a pro.”
Brown later backtracked on his reported comments on X. He praised James‘ longevity and even backed Bronny to become a successful NBA player in the future. However, many felt the damage was already done.
Arenas added,
“Then they even throw some more dirt with the Bronny thing. Made you be the bad guy. Boom! Now Bron mad at you. So everybody is already on Jaylen Brown’s head.”
The summer was equally controversial for Tatum. The 26-year-old faced stiff competition from veterans, LBJ and Kevin Durant, for a place in Team USA’s starting lineup. Head coach, Steve Kerr, eventually went with experience.
This resulted in JT being benched in two of the six games played.
The dynamic was somewhat understandable at first. But frustration peaked when Kerr consistently favored Tatum’s teammates White and Jrue Holiday over him.
Arenas speculated that Team USA might have been trying to send a message to the Celtics, saying,
“Then you go the Olympics where Jayson Tatum is feeling it. DNP. Let the world know that… They let the role players play.”
The Celtics are being dismantled right before our eyes pic.twitter.com/7h2ltIuivM
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) August 19, 2024
These events have certainly put the spotlight on the Celtics. All factors suggest that the roster is on the brink of a major shakeup.
The challenge for them is to overcome these obstacles and rise up once again. So, the big question on everyone’s mind is whether they can do it to retain the title.
