According to Doug Gottlieb, the reaction to Steve Kerr benching Jayson Tatum in the opening game of the 2024 Paris Olympics is that of an AAU dad. The Green Bay Phoenix head coach, who is still very much a sports media personality, took aim at those who criticized the Golden State Warriors head coach, particularly ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A. Smith.
Gottlieb called the insinuation that Kerr “disrespected” Tatum “f*cking ridiculous,” directly responding to Perkins’ complaints.
This is exactly the problem w/hoops. They won the game, by 20…
Don’t sign up for team USA if you have any agenda outside of winning. “Disrespect” is fucking ridiculous- who you gonna sit? Sounds like an AAU dad… https://t.co/bO5gYTngKT— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) July 29, 2024
He then went on a tangent on social media about Smith, calling the First Take host, whom he long harbors a feud against, “a scrub.”
Well, Stephen A was a scrub so maybe he would want to go in the last 5 min… but at this level, you don’t put Tatum in at SAS time. I’ve actually coached FIBA hoops w/12 guys that can play, could only get 10 in real games… and scrub time would just piss everyone off https://t.co/DK6VjhgG7S
— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) July 29, 2024
It didn’t stop there. Gottlieb then went on a tangent on his Fox Sports Radio show.
“Jamming a square peg into a round hole when you’ve evaluated that others are ahead of him only shows that if you play Jayson Tatum big minutes (Wednesday),” Gottlieb said, “You’re overcorrecting, and you’re giving into the pressure of social media. And the only people that really have an issue with it are guys with Boston by their name on social media. Anybody from Boston seems to be bothered by it, like NBC Sports Boston guys are just homers. It’s OK; it’s who they’re supposed to be.
“And people who view things from the NBA prism of respect. ‘It’s about respect.’ No, it’s not. You’re trying to win a basketball game. The only thing that’s important is that you win a game. The second that it becomes about something else is the second that you’ve lost your team; you’re not coaching it anymore. But if he bends over backward and plays Jayson Tatum way too much (Wednesday), he’s not just giving into all the social media pressure of the NBA, but it will cause far more problems.
“Because now, everyone’s gonna b*tch after games — every single one. Wouldn’t you? If the sticky wheel gets the grease, then everybody’s gonna be the sticky wheel.
“If you play Jayson Tatum big minutes tomorrow, you are overcorrecting and giving into the pressure of social media. It will cause far more problems.”
🎙️@GottliebShow on Steve Kerr potentially playing Jayson Tatum more minutes due to backlash pic.twitter.com/WTyfhvjQgb
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) July 30, 2024
With Team USA’s next game approaching against South Sudan on Wednesday afternoon, Gottlieb’s comments raise a fair question: Will Kerr succumb to pressure and increase Tatum’s minutes or prioritize winning, as Gottlieb suggests?
