Grant Hill claimed that removing Jaylen Brown from the US team’s roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics was a purely basketball-related decision.
This may not have been media language from the club’s managing director.
In an extensive column about the Boston Celtics’ offseason following their NBA Finals victory, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne expressed concerns the U.S. team had about Brown’s potential suitability for the Olympic stage.
“Brown wasn’t exactly a star for Team USA in 2019 when he played under Gregg Popovich in the World Championship. He averaged just 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds and the team finished a disappointing seventh,” Shelburne wrote. “And there were some questions about his ball movement and decision-making then, sources said, and over the summer there were questions among Team USA executives about whether he would be ready to play the defensive-minded role assigned to (Derrick) White.”
The story continues below the ad
Brown clearly felt his absence from the roster was due to external factors, such as his icy relationship with Nike. And it was fair for the 27-year-old to take that stance, given that he had proven himself with a third All-Star nomination, Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Finals MVP and NBA championship in the space of five months.
The U.S. team ended up winning a gold medal without Brown, so Hill and Co. certainly aren’t worried about their decision not to include the Celtics star in the squad. Brown, on the other hand, can use the absence as motivation as Boston tries to defend its title this season.
