"Can't embarrass him like that" - Stephen A. Smith calls out Steve Kerr for sidelining Jayson Tatum during USA vs Serbia
Jayson Tatum not receiving any playing time in the Team USA vs Serbia game on July 27 has become one of the biggest talking points in the NBA recently. One of the leading voices who expressed his displeasure at Steve Kerr's strategy is Stephen A. Smith. He said that Kerr embarrassed Tatum by benching him.
In a conversation on Friday's episode of 'First Take,' Smith and the panel were discussing if the Team USA head coach was creating a divide within the roster.
Questioning Kerr’s decision to bench Tatum, the veteran analyst alluded to the Boston Celtics star’s impressive resume to prove his point. He said that 10 players were not better than Tatum on the Team USA roster.
“Jayson Tatum ain’t even 28. The man has been to five conference finals, two NBA Finals, first-team All-NBA the last three years, in the process swept [Kevin Durant] one of those years… and as the reigning, defending NBA champion… who is the second-best player to Kevin Durant in the games in Tokyo and before you even you go for warmups, you letting him know ‘we got 10 players we gonna play before you, we might not get to you.’ Do you have any idea how insulting that is,” Smith said.
Smith also added that Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, who are also Celtics players, understand that Tatum is their No. 1 option on their team. Putting White and Holiday in the game and making the Celtics’ leader sit on the bench was embarrassing according to Smith.
“I would not have advertised, I am not supporting Jayson Tatum doing this, but I would not have blamed him if that brother decided to take the flight back to the States. I am serious, you can’t embarrass him like that, that was embarrassing,” Smith said.
Earlier in the show, Smith also questioned why Kerr did not sub Tatum against Serbia despite Team USA's big lead. However, while Tatum sat on the bench throughout the first match, he saw action in his team's next game against South Sudan.
Jayson Tatum feels empathy for his Celtics teammates on bench
Team USA’s roster for the Paris Olympics is loaded with some of the biggest stars in the NBA. Given what Jayson Tatum has achieved in the last few years in the league, not getting even a single minute of action in a blowout win was not something he expected
Tatum was asked to share his feelings about what happened and he said that he now understands his Celtics teammates who do not always get playing minutes.
"You can be frustrated that you want to play as a competitor, but maybe have some empathy for some of the guys on my team that don't always get to play or play spot minutes," Tatum told Joe Vardon of The Athletic. "So it's a learning experience to have, see it from that point of view, and just move on from it."
Tatum also remarked that not being given playing time in the Olympics’ opening game was definitely a humbling experience for him.
Moreover, Tatum was included in the starting five against South Sudan and saw 17 minutes of action. He ended up scoring four points, with five rebounds, and a block.