Ahead of the USA’s first exhibition game as part of the preparation for the 2024 Olympics, the Gil’s Arena panelists shared their opinions about the team’s roster. As odd as the segment was, each member revealed a player who they believed was a strange addition to the squad. Brandon Jennings didn’t provide any justification after disrespecting Tyrese Haliburton for his inclusion on Steve Kerr’s team.
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Jennings began his take by claiming that Joel Embiid wasn’t supposed to be part of the squad. The 34-year-old former Bucks point guard did make some sense when justifying himself – Embiid was born in Cameroon and also holds a French passport. However, the NBA veteran didn’t have any reason when he stated that Haliburton shouldn’t be one of the 12 men representing the nation.
“Tyrese Haliburton shouldn’t be up there. I don’t know about that.”
After further discussion with the other panel members, Jennings believed that Kyrie Irving had been snubbed. Additionally, he agreed that Irving should’ve decided to play for Australia (place of birth) following the snub.
Haliburton and Irving’s styles of play are completely different. While the Dallas Mavericks guard has been a ball-dominant scorer, the Pacers star is more of a facilitator. It shouldn’t be surprising to see Hali solely being used as a distributor by Steve Kerr.
In a team full of scoring-first players, Haliburton could prove his worth by dishing out multiple crucial passes. If he does get enough minutes, there could even be a possibility that the two-time All-Star finishes with the most number of assists.
Tyrese Haliburton hopes to win gold for USA at the Paris Olympics
While some analysts and enthusiasts may question his inclusion in Team USA, Tyrese Haliburton is ready to win gold for his country. Apart from already stating that he would use this opportunity to pick the brains of the likes of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and others, the pass-first guard is honored to have the privilege of representing his country at the most prestigious sporting gala.
During a recent interview, the 24-year-old also spoke about the pressure that came along with the virtue of being a member of the USA Basketball team. However, he claimed that the entire team was prepared to embrace that pressure and defend their gold medal for a fourth consecutive time.
“It’s the standard of USA Basketball. That’s not ever going to change, it’s part of the honor of wearing this jersey and the privilege of wearing this jersey. That’s the standard and I don’t think any of us would have it any other way. I think we all welcome that pressure and it’s a lot of fun for us to come together as top guys in the NBA, share the floor together… It’s cool to actually compete for something real.”
With the likes of Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Anthony Edwards being the frontrunners for the position of the starting guards, Tyrese Haliburton will certainly have to come off the bench. Despite Hali being expected to receive heavy minutes off the bench, it won’t be surprising to see him average fewer points than he did during the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
