Kendrick Perkins Says Steve Kerr 'Embarrassed' Jayson Tatum By Sitting Him In Blowout
The Team USA Men's Basketball Team entered the 2024 Summer Olympics with a lot of question marks after two narrow victories over weaker opponents in the lead up to the Games.
But they quickly erased doubts with a resounding blowout win over Serbia in their Olympic opener on Sunday.
However, despite the big win, there's still drama surrounding Team USA because, of course, there is.
Head coach Steve Kerr elected not to play Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum at all in the game. Clearly, that strategy worked perfectly because the American squad defeated Serbia by 26 points.
ESPN's Kendrick Perkins thinks Team USA Basketball coach Steve Kerr (pictured) "disrespected and embarrassed" Jayson Tatum by sitting him in a blowout win over Serbia.
(Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
"I felt like an idiot not playing him," Kerr said after the game. But why? The team won. That's the only goal, right?
Well, according to ESPN hot air balloon Kendrick Perkins, there's more to Team USA Basketball than just winning Olympic gold. Apparently, respect is just as – if not more – important.
Fox Sports commentator Doug Gottlieb had the correct take on this insane commentary by Perkins, so I'll just let him respond.
One-hundred percent agree with Gottlieb here. The goal is to win basketball games. Would it have been better for Kerr to throw Tatum out there when the game was already in hand? Or would that have been "embarrassing" too?
Was he supposed to play Tatum no matter what, simply because he's on the team? What the hell is this, YMCA recreational basketball?
To say that a player is "disrespected" by not seeing the floor in a game that Team USA won, and dominated, is asinine.
And I agree with Gottlieb that there should be no outside agendas here. The problem is that NBA players are so coddled these days.
Not just NBA players, either. The reference to AAU basketball is a great point. These kids grow up having everything handed to them and taught that it's about "me" and not about "we."
ESPN's Kendrick Perkins thinks Team USA Basketball coach Steve Kerr "disrespected and embarrassed" Jayson Tatum (pictured) by sitting him in a blowout win over Serbia.
(Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
That's not the mentality to have in professional sports and especially not on the International stage at the Summer Olympics.
To be fair to Tatum, he hasn't said anything publicly about not playing. Perhaps he truly understands the decision.
That said, the fact that Kerr has already committed to playing Tatum in the team's next game – Wednesday against South Sudan, a team that nearly beat Team USA this month – means there must be some rumblings.
But that's just speculation. Hopefully, Jayson Tatum understands the ultimate goal here.
Although, that would set him apart from the majority of his NBA counterparts in the modern era.