The moment Kawhi Leonard had to withdraw from Team USA, Boston Celtics’ Derrick White was announced as his replacement. White had a standout season with Boston, elevating his game on a championship team. Most seemed happy, everyone except his own teammate. Jaylen Brown is the reigning Finals MVP. Even after a spectacle of a postseason, the two-way wing couldn’t find a spot on Team USA. And he was aggrieved by it.

The three-time All-Star decided to publicly lash out his frustrations. In his view, it was Team USA’s lead sponsor, Nike who had a hand in preventing his participation at the Paris Olympics 2024. While he has every right to advocate for himself given his exemplary season, Brown was inadvertently fighting the case against his own teammate. That confused Tim MacMahon, since White’s name was floating around the Team USA circuits even before Brown was crowned the Finals MVP.

“My thing is like what was the surprise? What was reported like over a month ago, I think that if they needed a replacement, it was going to be Derrick White. Look Kyrie Irving, he wanted a spot too. He didn’t get one… I get these guys wanting a spot. Listen, if I am Jaylen Brown, like you said, he was just the Finals MVP. You know, he just got bumped off the top of the list as far as the biggest contract in NBA history. A two-way wing like I get him thinking ‘You know what, dude? I deserve a spot. I am one of the best 12 Americans in the world right now,” MacMahon noted.

The analyst understood why Brown’s blood must be boiling. Even before the season began, the dynamic forward spoke out about his desire to represent Team USA. But in this situation, as he stood up for himself, it also meant he discredited his teammate White being selected to the Team USA side.

“The one thing that I would say to Jaylen Brown is dude what you doing here is kind of taking a shot at a teammate you just won a championship with. Like, you claim and act like this is some unbelievable screw job is in a way to be taken as Derrick White is not deserving of his spot,” MacMahon revealed on The Lowe Post.

While in Vegas for the camp, reporters asked Jayson Tatum about his co-star too. The Celtics ace did admit it was difficult not having Brown on the roster but he wasn’t fine with demeaning his other teammate. It resulted in him being unsure of how to answer the question. On the other hand. Jaylen Brown’s public comments have solely been about his exclusion. Not in a single way did he congratulate Derrick White, at least not publicly.

Further in the episode, MacMahon also broke down the myth of Nike being the orchestrator behind Brown’s snub since there are three non-swoosh players on the active Team USA roster.

Grant Hill breaks silence on his decision to not pick Jaylen Brown

Again, just as MacMahon stated, Jaylen Brown has every reason to be offended. He was the anchor who carried Boston to a title after 16 years. His excellent postseason earned him MVP honors in both the conference finals as well as the Finals. As far as his claim goes, being the best player in the NBA Finals while considering his rapid evolution, Brown should have been amongst the first people approached for the Olympics.

So was it Nike? Did his strained relationship with the multibillion-dollar brand rob him of the opportunity of a lifetime? That’s simply not true as per USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill.

“You’ve got 12 spots. You have to build a team and one of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I’m a fan of… Guys who’ve been Finals MVPs, guys who’ve been a part of the program, guys who’ve won gold medals, guys who I respect, admire, and enjoy watching. But the responsibility that I have is to put together a team and a team that complements each other, a team that fits a team that will give us the best opportunity for success,” the NBA legend said as per Sporting News.

So it turns out Jaylen Brown was not selected purely based on his fit. Brown does have the capacity to defend at a high tempo, like Derrick White, with arguably superior offensive skills. However, at the same time, the Olympics roster has those initiators who thrive as the number one options. There was no place for another such player, as Jaylen Brown is, a frontal force. White offers them appropriate floor spacing given his career-best shooting season with the Celtics while also having great chemistry with Team USA’s Jrue Holiday in the backcourt.

Maybe the matter isn’t that deep. Maybe it is. But with everything that’s known, it always seemed like Derrick White would be the replacement choice. The circumstances, though, enable Jaylen Brown to feel left out.