Team USA is gearing up for a great start at the Paris Olympics 2024. But the announcement that the USA Team has made some last-minute changes to the men’s basketball team roster has raised a few eyebrows. Word travels fast, and Gilbert Arenas is just not having it! The former Golden State Warriors’ point guard took to his podcast and raised serious questions while also critiquing Team USA’s moves over Derrick White.

Kawhi Leonard had been officially swapped for Derrick White which left Gilbert Arenas to question the logic behind this decision. “Kawhi is a forward. They replaced a forward with another guard, another point guard, right? If you’re going to go with another point guard, you might as well get damn near the second-best point guard in the league last year, which is Brunson. According to Arenas, Jalen Brunson would have been a better replacement, given his outstanding performance last season, where he averaged 6.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds. 

Moving on, Kawhi Leonard is out of the Olympics and Team USA decided to add another player from the Boston Celtics roster to the Olympic roster which is Derrick White. White is coming off a championship-winning season for the Celtics where he was the fourth-leading scorer of the team. According to analysts, on paper, Derrick White seems like a better fit for an end of the bench role player on Team USA. However, Leonard’s not being a part of Team USA is something that has Arenas commenting on it quite extensively.

On his podcast, Gilbert Arenas exposed Team USA for hiding the truth about Kawhi Leonard’s Olympic status. While the USA Basketball team claimed that “Kawhi has been ramping up for the Olympics over the past several weeks and had a few strong practices in Las Vegas,” pictures of Leonard vacationing in Costa Rica had taken the internet by storm. While Arenas questioned the credibility of these claims, he cited the reason for Leonard sitting out of the Olympics was because if his ongoing knee issues. After ACL surgery in 2021, knee issues have been persistent for Leonard and Arenas criticized the USABMNT for withholding this information.

Amidst all the recent roster updates that hit Jaylen Brown, he took to social media to question this decision, and what he had to say has again taken social media by storm.

Jaylen Brown Snub & Team USA’s Response

Once the news about White broke, it obviously didn’t sit well with Brown and within 48 hours he posted a cryptic message on his X account. Tagging Nike, he wrote, “This is what we doing?” While attending the ESPY Awards when he was asked to comment on his Olympic snub, he remained silent.

Though the series of tweets posted by him suggest that he was snubbed because of his past criticism of Nike which is Team USA’s official sponsor. In the past when Nike cut off its deal with Kyrie Irving as he shared an antisemitic film, Brown came to Irving’s support and fired back at Nike, questioning their ethics.

However, Team USA managing director Grant Hill dismissed that Nike played a role in the decision to select White over Brown. “You get 12 spots, and you have to build a team…I’m trying to win and I’m trying to put together the right pieces that fit and give us a chance to win,” Hill said.

While the controversies around the USA men’s basketball team are set to continue, the team makes its way to the Paris games in the hope of winning another goal. While criticism from Gilbert Arenas and others regarding the USA Team choosing White over Brown prevails, it would be a great sight to watch the most influential players team up together on the home team.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, has to say about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud, Caitlin Clark’s Olympic snub, and more, watch this video.