Jaylen Brown is clearing the air on any tension between him and Derrick White after being left off the Team USA roster, and whether or not he felt Nike had something to do with the decision.
It wasn't exactly a tell-all, but Jaylen Brown shared a bit more of his story Monday night.
In his first media session since Team USA chose Derrick White over Brown to replace Kawhi Leonard on its 2024 Paris Olympics squad, Brown downplayed the snub while expressing happiness for White, who joins fellow Celtics Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday on the U.S. roster.
"I wasn’t surprised,” Brown told reporters in Las Vegas before the Celtics' NBA Summer League win over the Los Angeles Lakers, as seen in the video above. "But my reaction was, I was happy for D-White. It’s dope to have so much of our guys on there. I was happy for those guys. But I wasn’t surprised."
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Brown caused a stir last week when he suggested that Nike (Team USA's official apparel sponsor) had a hand in his omission from Team USA due to his previous criticism of the apparel giant. The reigning NBA Finals MVP doubled down on that stance Monday night.
"I do, for sure," Brown said when asked if he thinks Nike played a role in him not making the roster. “There will be more stuff to come with that, but as of now, I’m not going to comment on it."
Brown also clarified that any ire over his snub was directed at Nike, not White, adding that he reached out to his Celtics teammate to set the record straight.
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"Absolutely, I called Derrick right away just to make sure there’s no confusion (in) my love for (him) and all of that, and that he knew that," Brown said. "And he did. You don’t always (have) to make everything public, but me and D-White are good."
Brown does appear to have a beef with Nike, but it appears he's not letting that impact his relationship with his teammates -- particularly White, who played an integral role in the Celtics 2024 championship run and just agreed to a four-year, $125.9 million contract extension with Boston.
The best-case scenario for the C's would be Brown maintaining his strong relationships with his teammates but gaining extra motivation by being left off Team USA's roster -- and it sounds like that's the case.
"I’m super fired up," Brown said of his Olympic snub. "I've got all the motivation in the world to just come out and improve. I love it, honestly."
