Kendrick Perkins, like many others, was perplexed by Steve Kerr’s decision to bench Jayson Tatum on Sunday in France.
Tatum was one of two Team USA players who didn’t play at all in the Americans’ group-stage game against Serbia during the Paris Olympics. The Boston Celtics star was neither sick nor injured; Kerr chose to focus on certain matchups and reintegrate Kevin Durant, who had been dealing with a
nagging injury. This reasoning did not sit well with Kendrick Perkins, who criticized Kerr on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday. “You do not disrespect him and embarrass him the way that you did,” the former Celtics center said, as transcribed by Mass Live. “We live in a world of social media. We can’t run from it, and you can’t hide from it. There’s no way you’re going to convince me that Jayson Tatum wasn’t embarrassed.”