There has been some controversy after USA Basketball named Boston Celtics guard Derrick White Kawhi Leonard's replacement on Team USA .
Leonard withdrew from the Paris Dream Team after USAB and the L.A. Clippers decided that it was in his best interest if he prepared for the next NBA season rather than play in Paris. Almost immediately after that announcement, it was revealed that White would replace Kawhi on the team.
On Wednesday, USA Basketball Director Grant Hill defended the organization's decision to appoint White as Leonard's substitute.
“ He is someone who is accustomed to playing alongside great players. He plays with two great young stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, " said Hill on Sirius XM radio, via Jared Weiss .
White is a complimentary piece
White is coming off a championship-winning season for the Celtics, during which he was the fourth-leading scorer on the team behind Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis. Despite that, he played a key role in the Celtics' title win, especially when KP got hurt.
The 29th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, all career-highs for him, in 19 postseason games played. White's numbers dropped to 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game in the 2024 NBA Finals. But he was also second in the team in steals (1.2 SPG) and blocks (1.0 BPG) and was comfortable seeing his production drop as Jrue Holiday played well in the championships series.
"So he knows how to be a complimentary piece but also stand out in his role," added Hill. And so, obviously, we have tremendous star power on this team. But he’s a guy that whether he sits for two games or he plays in the fourth quarter, he’s going to have a great attitude, he’s going to be Derrick White.”
Jaylen Brown called out Nike
Hill's statement comes at the heels of White's teammate Jaylen Brown , tweeting at Nike and seemingly unhappy about the decision to pick the 6-4 guard to replace a 6-7 forward in Kawhi. "Nike, this what we doing?" wrote Brown on X after the White announcement.
It's unclear whether the 2024 NBA Finals and Eastern Conference Finals MVP wanted to be part of the team. But with his Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday already on the squad, it would have looked more logical if USAB added the best player on the Celtics, too, rather than the team's fourth-best player. But as Hill explained, it was about getting a complimentary piece.
Brown and his former teammate Kyrie Irving were believed to have the inside track on joining Team USA if a non-big man was injured. But given that Nike has been a partner of USAB since 2006 and Brown and Irving have a history versus the Swoosh Brand, one can't help but wonder if that's really the reason why they picked White.
Related: "You are repeatedly unavailable for the people who pay you" - Stephen A. Smith goes off on Kawhi Leonard for trying to play for Team USA
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