Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has once again been making waves in the news but for somewhat wrong reasons! After the player was initially snubbed from the Team USA roster that headed to the 2024 Paris Olympics, he was once again ignored after teammate Derrick White was picked as the injured Kawhi Leonard’s replacement. This prompted the 27-year-old NBA star to spread some unproven claims that Grant Hill, Team USA’s managing director, recently diminished as a “conspiracy theory.” However, Brown did not allow the matter to die down and took his criticism to Hill directly.

In a recent segment of Yahoo! Sports’ ‘Good Word with Goodwill’, NBA reporters Vincent Goodwill and Jake Fischer touched base on the Jaylen Brown-Grant Hill debacle. Goodwill highlighted that even though Jaylen Brown may yet have a window open for being considered for the 2028 Olympic Games, he is closing the same by escalating the situation. Furthermore, he highlighted his belief that the player may not be wrong in feeling upset but using unproven claims to put out his feelings while his teammate got the spot instead of him is certainly not in good taste.

“It just seems really poor form for Jaylen Brown to take every public statement, and to twist it into something that it’s not intended to be,” said Goodwill. Fischer agreed with this statement, highlighting that Brown’s actions are simply a “nail on the head because, to your point of the 2028 roster, this isn’t benefiting anyone.”

After Derrick White was selected as Kawhi Leonard’s replacement, Jaylen Brown was quick to react by expressing his thoughts via social media. The player certainly went the unexpected route, as he tweeted, “@nike this what we doing?” Given the reported tumultuous relationship that supposedly exists between the player and the billion-dollar brand, Brown was of the opinion that Nike’s role as the Olympics’ kit sponsor gave them unwarranted influence that led to him not being considered.

During an interview on ‘The Dan Patrick Show’, Grant Hill emphasized his earlier claim that the decision to select White was made solely on merit. Concerning Brown’s Nike claim, he stated, “I think this idea that there’s a conspiracy theory — I always love a good conspiracy theory, but it was truly a basketball decision and these are tough decisions.” This response did not bode well with the player.

“Grant Hill calling me a conspiracy theorist is disappointing I’ve been a VP since I was 21 years old I have a great understanding,” said Brown in a statement via X. By highlighting his role as the Vice President of the NBA Players Association, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP indicated having some non-public information about Nike’s influence. Whether Jaylen Brown is in the right or not, his continuing promotion of the alleged claims is not helping his situation anymore. Vincent Goodwill and Jake Fischer have indicated the same. This raises a critical question…

Will the Jaylen Brown snub affect things in the Boston Celtics’ locker room?

With an average score of 23.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, Jaylen Brown was one of the two players who led the offensive effort for the Boston Celtics during the 2023–24 playoffs. It was his contribution that earned him the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and the Finals MVP title after securing the championship trophy. Despite this, it was Celtics players Jayson Tatum and Derrick White who became a part of Team USA’s Olympic roster. Therefore, it would not be easy to dismiss the thought that Brown’s snub may complicate things for the NBA franchise in the future.

Back on July 11, former Virginia Tech college coach Seth Greenberg was interviewed on a segment of ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ program. Touching base on Derrick White being selected instead of Jaylen Brown, Greenberg applauded the decision by stating that Grant Hill was only trying to find the appropriate missing piece after Kawhi Leonard’s exit. At the same time, however, he believed that a Team USA decision should not reflect domestically.

“You must address this issue, because you’ve got a great locker room, you’re coming off a championship, you have a team that’s built to defend, and maybe make a run to be the next, basically, dynasty in the NBA, you don’t want to mess up with that chemistry,” said Greenberg. “This is a USA Basketball decision but it still affects your locker room if you’re basically the front office of the Celtics.”

If a situation arises where some future tension may develop in the Celtics locker room, Derrick White is already attempting to prevent it. In an interview with ‘The Boston Globe’ writer Adam Himmelsbach, the player highlighted reaching out to Brown after the replacement decision was announced. White stated that his teammate called him back to say, “Yeah, you didn’t need to call me. I know we’re good.” Both of them looked to assure each other that there was no tension over White being added to the roster.

Jaylen Brown may not choose to highlight his displeasure towards his teammates. However, his response to Grant Hill indicated that the subsequent tension may not die down soon.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.