Team USA coach Steve Kerr may be one of the greatest coaches of his generation, but he has committed many questionable decisions during his time on the sidelines. Some of those may have been made in recent weeks in his attempt to lead the national basketball squad to a gold-medal finish in Paris.
The Golden State Warriors coach's inexplicable move to bench Jayson Tatum in the U.S.'s Olympics opener has been met with plenty of criticisms. Kerr wasn't even safe from his own star, as Draymond Green called him out for his "wrong" moves.
"You don't not play Jayson Tatum," Green said . "That man just won an NBA championship, cover of NBA 2K, cover of Sports Illustrated saying, 'Cheers,' just signed the biggest contract in NBA history. 'Oh, by the way, your reward is sit down and don't play in the first Olympic game.' Not playing him, it was wrong. We all know it was wrong. He should've played. He didn't."
Dray's gripe with Kerr's coaching decision
According to the Warriors forward, Tatum was seen as Team USA's successor to Kevin Durant, who was the squad's go-to guy. It did look like that, with the Boston Celtics superstar finishing the Tokyo Olympics with 15.2 points per game, which was second only to Durant's 20.7 points per contest.
Green didn't think that JT's unimpressive string of performances in the USA Basketball showcase earlier this summer warranted a DNP-CD in Team USA's matchup versus Serbia.
Kerr chalked it up to looking for lineup combinations that made sense , although people have clapped back on that explanation because Tatum could have been subbed in during garbage time.
The one-time NBA Coach of the Year doubled down on the strategy by benching Joel Embiid against the fast-paced South Sudan. Green also disagreed with that decision, stating that he felt like the coaching staff was just covering their tracks.
He also implored Kerr to establish a set rotation instead of supposedly adjusting their lineup based on which opponent they are facing.
"Quite frankly, I don't like it," Draymond said of the benchings . "Come out with a rotation and stick with it. These teams aren't good enough to where we're trying to match their lineup. They gotta match our lineup. We not matching they lineup, by the way, because we got the best players in the world."
Related: Tracy McGrady answers which changes he wants to see in the NBA: "I think you can't score until everyone gets past half-court"
Tatum is ready when his number is called
Only time will tell if the Dubs coach modifies his strategy because folks watching, including Green, have beseeched him to make changes.
However, there might be no need for that anymore, as Tatum has actually been heavily involved in Team USA's rotation in the past two contests. He started against South Sudan before registering his best game in the tournament in its win versus Puerto Rico to close out their group play.
Kerr might need more Tatum minutes in the coming days, with the stakes having become higher because a loss will mean the end of the road for the Americans' aspiration of bringing home the gold.
Related: Steve Kerr on why Devin Booker has started every game for Team USA: "He's probably been the guy who's been most adaptable"
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