Despite leading Team USA to an undefeated Olympic campaign, Steve Kerr irked a lot of fans, especially Celtics supporters, with his treatment of Jayson Tatum. The forward played only 70 minutes during the tournament with two DNPs. His lack of playing time coupled with Jaylen Brown’s exclusion from the roster prompted fans to speculate that the head coach has a personal vendetta against the franchise.
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Former Celtics head coach Doc Rivers addressed the theory during an appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast. He claimed he didn’t believe Kerr was trying to mess with the Celtics superstars’ morale or hurt the team’s chemistry. However, he added that he cannot say that with certainty. Rivers said,
“I’m golfing and one of the guys from Boston, Robbie, the first thing he said, ‘What’s up with Kerr man?’ I said, ‘Robbie what do you mean?’ He said ‘What’s up with him? Is he jealous?’… He really believed they kept Jaylen Brown off to mess the team up. I said I don’t think any of that is true but we’ll see.”
While the criticism of the Warriors’ head coach’s rotation during the Olympics is valid, Tatum did not cover himself in glory in the playing time he got. The forward shot 8-of-21 from the field and went 0-of-4 from beyond the arc. In his 11-minute cameo in the gold medal game against France, he committed two personal fouls and banked only one of his three shot attempts.
His performances left a lot to be desired. But that did not stop his mother from calling out Kerr for his limited playing time.
Brandy Cole took exception to her son’s benching
In Team USA’s semifinal win against Serbia, Tatum was inexplicably left on the bench, prompting speculation about whether he had suffered an undisclosed injury. However, his mother quickly clarified on X that he was healthy and him spending the entire game on the bench was Kerr’s decision. She posted,
“No he not [injured]. But if you find out what’s going on please let me know – unacceptable and makes NO SENSE.”
The head coach claimed that the team had a set rotation and he did not want to tinker with it, especially with Serbia dominating proceedings for the majority of the game. But that explanation did little to soothe the irate Celtics fans, who are still upset about Tatum’s treatment during the Olympics.
