After finishing the NBA season on a high, Jayson Tatum looked at the Paris Olympics and probably thought, “I’m about to make a name for myself”. Well, as we know already, it didn’t quite work out like that for the Cs champ. In one of the most astonishing turns of events, Tatum saw most of the game pass him by as the outrage about his benching by Steve Kerr grew.

Ultimately, it did not affect the overall mission of Team Avengers. They came back with the gold medal, but with everything considered, Jayson Tatum returned with a medal and a black mark on his ledger. Being an NBA champion and not playing was a startling reality check, as the whole situation had two other winners and losers. Who are they? The latest episode of The Odd Couple podcast had the answer.

Rob Parker & Kerry Rhodes sat down to dissect the dynamic in the fallout from the Tatum fiasco and some intriguing theories came to life. According to Parker, it was all a bad look, but not on Tatum, but on his NT HC, Steve Kerr. “As much as people want to kind of rip on Jason Tatum and oh, you know, like how you got disrespect, I think Steve Kerr looks worse,” the columnist said. “And just from the standpoint of to be a great coach, sometimes you gotta be able to maneuver and figure it out. There’s enough minutes, I don’t care what anybody says. Of course. And you played some other people that you could have easily put them in. He doesn’t have to go in for the last three minutes to try to disrespect them.”

Jayson Tatum only featured in 5 games throughout the tournament, averaging 17.8 minutes per game. In those minutes provided to him, the 5-time NBA All-Star averaged 6.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1 steal. “If I’m him (Kerr), here’s one of the best players in the league, he’s an American, he’s a first team, all NBA, he’s won a championship, he’s done all this thing, and I can’t find any minutes for that kid. It just didn’t sit right with me,” the 60-year-old concluded. In response, his co-host, Kerry Rhodes, said, “Yeah, Steve Kerr definitely looks worse in this situation than Jason.” 

Kerr’s decision to keep Tatum out of the core team might have done some damage to the 26-year-old’s reputation on the court as his teammate, Jrue Holiday, was a constant fixture on the team. But somehow, there’s another player who has benefitted from it all. Rhodes took the lead later on the podcast and revealed how Jaylen Brown was in a win-win situation.

Jaylen Brown is the real winner in the Jayson Tatum-Steve Kerr saga

​Jaylen Brown had a season to remember in the Shamrocks colors with both the Finals MVP and Conference Finals MVP awards to his name. He was the man for the Celtics, but when it came to Team USA, he was a non-factor. Instead, 3 of his teammates got the nod ahead of him. But despite the snub, he’s the one laughing now, as far as Kerry Rhodes is concerned. The former NFL star announced the 27-year-old as the ultimate winner in the whole saga and said, “You know who came out on top? Jaylen Brown. Because think about it, that was another extra body of a similar body type of Jason Tatum. And he didn’t play. He would not have played if Jason Tatum didn’t play,” the former safety claimed.

He further explained, “So that conversation of being saved, not having to go through that and just having the conversation of other people saying he should have been a part of the team, he looks a little bit better in the situation than Jason does.” While Tatum’s lack of minutes became a matter of national debate, if the same happened to Brown, things would’ve looked much worse than it is now. Brown’s snub already made waves due to the alleged involvement of Nike, so having him on the bench was a sure-shot way for Steve Kerr to get more bad press.

With the NBA season still a few months away, will this Team USA dynamic stir a power struggle in the Celtics ranks? Only time will tell, but if you want to have a say now, use the comment section for your opinion to be heard!