Skip Bayless claims it was Jayson Tatum’s influence that got Derrick White picked over Jaylen Brown to replace Kawhi Leonard on Team USA. [photo: Celtics IG, Brown IG, Bayless IG]

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have taken in stride narratives about how they don’t get along on and off the court. In the NBA Finals, the relationship between the two Boston Celtics superstars was again put in the limelight. Some were convinced that Tatum wasn’t happy when Brown took the Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals MVP awards.

When the Celtics eventually won the 2024 championship, the duo unsurprisingly took shots at their critics. They wanted to show that all the negative talks surrounding them were only rumors.

On “Undisputed,” Skip Bayless brought up that narrative again. After Derrick White, another key Celtic, was chosen to replace Kawhi Leonard on Team USA, Bayless went to that angle again:

“[Tatum] is a big Nike guy who just came out with his signature shoe. … This smacks of, it smells like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen [Brown] just don’t really get along.
“It feels like to me he [Tatum] is saying, ‘Hey, I just need a break. I don’t have to live with him for another month so closely when we go to Paris. I just don’t wanna do this.”

After White was picked to take over Leonard’s spot, Jaylen Brown seemingly questioned the decision. “JB” implied that the brand, which he hasn’t had good relations with, had influenced the selection. He posted on X, formerly Twitter, this:

“@nike this what we doing?”

Skip Bayless has suggested that Jayson Tatum might have influenced Team USA’s decision to not include Jaylen Brown on the team, citing Tatum’s close relationship with Nike as a possible factor. Bayless also mentioned that Grant Hill, the team’s managing director, is allegedly accommodating Tatum’s request to exclude Brown from the team.

Paul Pierce and Keyshawn Johnson, Bayless’ co-hosts, did not agree with those comments.

Derrick White’s selection had nothing to do with Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, or any other player

Grant Hill did not particularly address Skip Bayless’s comments, but the Team USA Director’s comments about the Derrick White selection said it all. The former Detroit Pistons star had this to say about why he chose White:

“You have to build a team. And one of the hardest things is leaving people off the roster that I’m a fan of, that I look forward to watching throughout the season, throughout the playoffs.”

Before the Team USA training camp started, Kawhi Leonard’s status was already uncertain due to right knee inflammation. Hill was likely prepared for a scenario where Leonard would be unavailable. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Derrick White was already in serious consideration to replace the LA Clippers star. It was a plan that had nothing to do with Jaylen Brown.

Skip Bayless is reaching by bringing up an angle that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have already proven wrong.