Kendrick Perkins, like so many others, was baffled by Steve Kerr’s handling of Jayson Tatum on Sunday in France.
Tatum was one of two Team USA players who didn’t log a single minute in the Americans’ Paris Olympics group-stage matchup with Serbia. The Boston Celtics star wasn’t sick nor injured and didn’t play because Kerr wanted to focus on certain matchups and get Kevin Durant back in the swing of things after dealing with a nagging injury.
That explanation wasn’t satisfactory for Kendrick Perkins, who took Kerr to task Monday on ESPN’s “First Take.”
“You do not disrespect him and embarrass him the way that you did,” the former Celtics center said, as transcribed by MassLive. “We live in the world of social media. We can’t run from it, you can’t hide from it. No way in hell are you going to tell me that Jayson Tatum wasn’t embarrassed.”
Kerr claimed Tatum handled the DNP like a professional, but the five-time All-Star probably wasn’t thrilled with being the butt of the joke online after Team USA cruised to a lopsided win over Nikola Jokic and company. The Golden State Warriors coach also insisted Tatum still will “make his mark” on these Olympics despite not playing Sunday.
As such, it feels like a guarantee Tatum will see playing time Wednesday when the Americans match up with South Sudan.
