One of the biggest stories of the summer was Derrick White getting the call up replace Kawhi Leonard in the Team USA squad over Jaylen Brown.
Coming off a championship with the Celtics, Brown was crowned Finals MVP and was dubbed the perfect replacement for Leonard, but Team USA didn’t think so.
Brown took to social media to express his displeasure with the snub and even called out Nike, who are a sponsor of Team USA for having a hand in the decision. “This what we doing?” Brown said on X whilst tagging the shoe giant.
White could have taken Brown’s public outcry personally, but Brown made sure to text him and clear the air, ESPN‘s Ramona Shelburne reported.
“Brown texted White directly to make sure he knew none of this was personal, sources said,” Shelburne said.
The Boston guard took direct aim as Team Basketball Director Grant Hill in some later tweets, after Hill made some ‘conspiracy theory’ comments about Brown.
At the Celtics, no was surprised by Brown’s behavior – they almost seemed to expect it.
“That’s who Jaylen is,” one team source told ESPN. “He is not afraid to speak his mind. Jaylen has a constant chip on his shoulder and sees doubters everywhere.”
Brown’s teammate, Al Horford has been impressed with Brown’s form over the weekend and it looks as though he is ready to prove the doubters wrong all over again this season.
“I’ve been in the gym with Jaylen the past few weeks,” Horford said. “First of all, the dude looked like he’s put on 10 more pounds of muscle. He looks great – just unreal. He’s so hungry, so motivated, so driven.”
At Boston’s media day on Tuesday, White was asked if there is an elephant in the room after he made Team USA over Brown, to which White responded, “There’s no elephants in there.”