Steve Kerr has guided Team USA to back-to-back blowout victories at the Summer Olympics in Paris, but back home, the coach is facing backlash.
Stephen A. Smith hammered Kerr on ESPN’s First Take on Friday for not using Jayson Tatum in the Americans’ 26-point win over Serbia in their first game last weekend.
Smith said Kerr’s rotations have created problems and that not using Tatum was “insulting” to the Boston Celtics star who recently led his NBA team to a championship.
Still, the longtime Warriors coach didn’t seem bothered when asked about the criticism of his playing time decisions on Friday.
“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for us to put our five leading scorers on the floor from an NBA season because those guys don’t complement each other well,” he told reporters in France. “Just coaching basketball, it’s pretty simple for us, regardless of all the noise.”
Former 13-time NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade, now working the sidelines for NBC in Paris, defended Kerr this week, noting that few could’ve expected Kevin Durant to return from a calf injury, come off the bench and put together “one of the greatest Olympic performances ever.” Durant’s unexpected dominance forced Kerr to change his rotations, Wade speculated.
In the Americans’ second game, a 17-point win over South Sudan on Wednesday, Tatum was in the starting lineup and scored four points in 17 minutes.
Kerr previously said it was a mistake not to use Tatum in Game 1.
“Definitely a humbling experience, right?” Tatum told The Athletic of being benched in Game 1. “Win a championship, new contract, cover of (NBA) 2K (video game) and then you sit a whole game. Cover of Sports Illustrated. So it was definitely a humbling experience.”
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There were more questions after Kerr never used 2022-23 NBA MVP Joel Embid in Game 2. Kerr later said it was because he wanted more speed on the floor.
Kerr said he expected there to be controversy, but noted that the players understand the ultimate goal of winning a gold medal is bigger than individual glory.
“We have an embarrassment of riches on the roster, that’s the best way to put it,” Kerr said. “These guys are all champions, All-Stars, Hall of Famers. The whole thing is, are we committed to the goal? That’s it.
“I always tell our guys with the Warriors, the reason they pay us a lot of money is there’s so much interest worldwide in what we do. So you can’t have it both ways. You can’t accept your salary and then get mad at social media or all the coverage. That’s why we’re in this position.”
Team USA is back on the court on Saturday against Puerto Rico at 8:15 a.m. PT. Kerr already announced his lineup: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday and Embiid.
