The Boston Celtics continue to stay in the news well after earning their NBA-best 18th championship. The celebratory parade is over. The hype has died down. The drama, however, continues.
As the U.S. men’s basketball team gears up for the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the Celtics made headlines again over a surprising roster move. The team decided to replace Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard on the roster, but when it was announced that Celtics guard Derrick White was taking over, bypassing his Boston teammate Jaylen Brown, heads were turned. Legendary ESPN sportscaster Dan Patrick tried to make sense of the bizarre swap on his “Dan Patrick Show.”
Dan Patrick Weighs In on Jaylen Brown Olympic Snub
On June 18, 2024, the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to claim their first championship since 2008. Nearly a month later, they’re still being talked about but for far different reasons.
Arguably Boston’s best player throughout the postseason, Brown was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, yet when it came to the Olympics, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday were initially picked for the team.
If Holiday’s selection over Brown wasn’t surprising enough, White being selected as the third Celtics representative over Brown floored many. Patrick believes the Olympic team already has too much star power, and that may have been the reason why Brown was overlooked.
“Jaylen Brown, to me, would probably be a little bit more disappointed or upset — I don’t want to say angry — if he’s not playing,” Patrick said. “You’re on the roster. You’re on the bench, and I should be playing. OK, but when you’re not, because there’s a lot of star power here. I mean, you got LeBron, you got KD, you got Steph Curry.
“These are big-ticket items. Anthony Edwards says he’s the number one option here. You got egos here. Sometimes you’ve got to get the guys who are the foot soldiers. It seems like every team has those or needs to have those. Sometimes when you see an All-Star team or a team full of stars lose, it’s because they haven’t been playing together.”
Patrick Said He Understands the White Move
Brown’s omission has been the talk around Boston. It’s become somewhat of a fiasco, with many digging deep and coming up with various reasons why Brown was passed over. Although Patrick said he doesn’t know if there’s more to Brown’s snub, he said he understands why the Olympic team would settle on White.
“I understand Derrick White,” Patrick said. “Derrick White is very versatile. Really good defender. He can shoot the three, doesn’t lack confidence, and plays hard. If you put him on the bench, and he doesn’t play, you’re probably not going to hear anything.
“If Jaylen Brown doesn’t play, how’s he going to react? Derrick White doesn’t play, we know how he’s going to react. He’ll be fine. He’s on the Olympic team, great experience. Jaylen Brown’s probably saying I’m up there in the conversation of best player in the world. I should be playing. I think that probably factored in.”
USA basketball managing director Grant Hill said it’s all about finding the right mix when trying to put together a team of All-Stars.
“This is about putting together a team,” Hill said. “Just kind of overall, you have incredible interest from an abundance of talent that we have here in the United States. I’ve talked a little about when we assembled this roster. You have 12 spots. You have to build a team. One of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I’m a fan of.
“One of the many things that I really love about Derrick, and particularly with this team, is I don’t feel like his role changes much with our team, from what he does with the Celtics. He plays alongside two incredibly great young players in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.”
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