Former Celtics C calls out Steve Kerr for benching Jayson Tatum

Team USA won its opening game in the 2024 Olympics against Serbia 110-84 on Sunday. LeBron James and Kevin Durant were the best players on the floor.

Head coach Steve Kerr kept a 10-man rotation throughout the contest. He utilized a three-guard rotation in his starting lineup while also bringing Derrick White and Anthony Edwards off the bench. As such, Devin Booker started as a small forward.

Due to Kerr's decision to run a three-guard rotation, Jayson Tatum found himself glued to the bench . He registered what could possibly be the first "did not play, coaches decision" of his life. Kerr has since noted that Tatum will play against South Sudan on Wednesday.

"Jayson Tatum will play," Kerr said during a postgame news conference. "I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t,” Kerr said. “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.”

While the logic behind sitting Tatum is clear, Kerr is still facing significant criticism. Tatum is arguably a top-10 player in the world. He was likely the second-best player during Team USA's run to a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and he was clearly the Celtics' best player this past season, when they won the NBA championship.

During an appearance on Monday's edition of ESPN's First Take, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins blasted Kerr's decision to bench Tatum.

"Jayson Tatum is a versatile player," Perkins said. "... You know what Jayson Tatum is going to bring to the table. You do not disrespect him and embarrass him the way that you did."

Tatum is one of the best players on Kerr's roster. Benching him for the opening game of the tournament was an oversight. He is too good to be riding the bench. As Perkins noted, Tatum can play multiple positions. Therefore, it's the coaching staff's job to find him a spot in the rotation. Failure to do so is a failure on the coaching staff's part.

When Tatum returns to Team USA's rotation against South Sudan, all eyes will be on how he approaches the game. He has been a major talking point since the Serbia game and must deliver to prove the swaths of criticism levied at Kerr to be correct.

Tatum may have been disrespected in the opening game. Now, it's on him to ensure it doesn't happen again for the remainder of the tournament.