"We could use another champ" - Dwight Howard attempts to recruit Jayson Tatum to new league following Team USA DNP
Jayson Tatum dominated the headlines after Team USA's blowout win over Serbia because he received a DNP from head coach Steve Kerr. Former NBA player Dwight Howard piled on and attempted to recruit the Boston Celtics star to his new league in Asia.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Howard used Tatum to promote his new league called The Asian Tournament. He plays for the Taipei Mustangs along with former players DeMarcus Cousins and Quinn Cook.
"Jayson we could use another champ In my league! You could hoop like this https://youtu.be/3d2K90syUbE if you came," Howard tweeted.
Jayson Tatum is fresh off winning his first NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, so it was surprising for many to see him get zero minutes in Team USA's first game in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Head coach Steve Kerr explained that it was hard to give 12 players playing time if the entire game is just 40 minutes.
In addition to Tatum, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers also received a DNP from Kerr. It was surprising to see two players not get any minutes in a game that was out of hand in the second half. Team USA eventually won 110-84.
On the other hand, Dwight Howard continued his recruitment of former NBA players for his league. Howard is part-owner not just of The Asian Tournament but also his team Taipei Mustangs. The league has a total of 10 games from countries such as Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines.
Howard previously played for the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League and Strong Group Athletics in the Philippines, which participated in a tournament in Dubai. He also signed with the Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico but never suited up for them.
Jayson Tatum to play for Team USA vs. South Sudan
Team USA's next game will be against South Sudan on Wednesday. Head coach Steve Kerr seemingly confirmed on Monday that Jayson Tatum will get minutes in their next game.
"I'm not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn't. But we're going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens," Kerr said. [H/T NBA.com]
South Sudan will be a tough matchup for Team USA, considering they almost lost to them in an exhibition game. They were even down by double-digits before staging a comeback but still needed LeBron James to hit a game-winner. The youngest nation in the world won their Olympic debut against Puerto Rico.