ESPN’s Dave McMenamin on the Jaylen Brown/Derrick White Team USA Controversy | The Rich Eisen Show

what was it like in U in the building last night with uh USA versus Canada Dave Rich it was amazing I I've been covering USA Basketball events since 2007 in Las Vegas and I thought it would be really hard to beat the blue white game that I covered in 2007 you had Kobe on one team LeBron on the other Kobe ends up hitting the game winner that was at the Thomas and Mack it's a smaller venue and it didn't have quite the buzz that this one did last night I mean there was sellout 20,000 plus USA chance fans on their feet when LeBron and Dylan Brooks started to get into it a little bit the crowd was smart enough to know the history uh between LeBron and Dylan when Dylan was with the Memphis Griz and the Lakers played them in the playoffs a few years back honestly it was like it was a treat to cover and there's this part of me as these Seasons get longer and longer like man do we really need to be in in a gym with NBA players in uh July right but that that was was well worth the trip um to cover and um if this USA team continues to approach the rest of the runup to the Olympics and their time in France the way they did last night they're going to make their Mark as you know there will be an argument that they're the best USA basketball team in history I mean they're they're poised they are poised in in terms of obvious resume and I understand what the original Dream Team was and and stood for but they're certainly poised to to back that up Dave and that's that is a mouthful what was the chatter about Derek white over Jaylen Brown that you were hearing last night yeah I mean Grant Hill tried to diffuse the situation um with a joke that went over like a lead balloon in the room and you know obviously the insinuation here is that Jaylen Brown was left off the team because Nike made decision and Jaylen Brown was critical of Nike online more than a year ago when they severed their relationship with Kyrie Irving after Kyrie Irving um shared uh that documentary on his social media channels that included some anti-semitic themes um Grant Hill goes well I was wearing theless for most of my career and look at me being part of Team USA and it just it didn't work to explain the situation uh now I I can say this there was consideration for Derek white before the finals was over before jayen Brown was named the NBA Finals MVP and he's been someone who's been a part of USA basketball from the you know under 18 Junior tournament level as well so it's not like just all of a sudden they decide that you know what we're not going with jayen brown because of the controversy and we want to sell sell sneakers and and you know just to rub it even more so we're going to take his teammate like this has been something that's been discussed by USA basketball now for months um because you also need to have contingency plans when uh you know that injuries are a part of the sport and so you know Derek white I'm sure whenever he speaks to the media for the first time um once he joins the team overseas he's going to tell us that he wasn't NE caught off guard or shocked by this decision because I'm sure that Grant Hill and USA basketball and Company kind of prime the pump to to T ask him before we got to this point hey if someone does drop out are you ready and willing to step in and so it it definitely looks bad for Jaylen Brown and I can empathize to the spot that's he's in because kind of the de facto I'm the best player in the world title that gets passed around summer to summer is the guy who wins the NBA Finals MVP award and that's what he just did right and to not be included something doesn't smell right necessarily at the same time I can't totally fault USA basketball and say this was just some sort of spiteful decision by them I think the Derek white decision was months in the making well I mean the answer lies I think somewhere in between what you just said Dave right I mean it's not some sort of spiteful decision decision that came down from on high in the state of Oregon by Phil Knight right um but there is something to the fact that Team USA or USA Basketball has been identifying Derek white instead of Jaylen Brown you know I mean he he didn't have to be NBA Finals MVP to make this more Awkward he was already um a top player in the world prior to the NBA finals this year and and throughout the playoffs he was already showing that and so if you're putting together the team of the best of the best you choose Jaylen brown but Grant said something along the lines of he's choosing a he's trying to make up a a puzzle piece team right I mean so what yeah I mean we seen like look at the redeemed team right like that was topheavy with stars obviously LeBron Kobe Melo Dwight Howard Dwayne Wade but then they had someone like taan Prince on the team to fill a role and you know the same people that are involved in putting that team together the Jerry Colangelo of the world the Mike shesis of the world they were have been Consultants to Grant Hill in the process of putting this team together and so I'm sure he has you know anecdotal evidence from guys who had success at this level and how they thought about putting together a team and and why he would feel like he'd be justified ified um and and being making the right decision by putting a player with the kind of profile of a Derek white into a group that is is already so Superstar heavy um and again that I don't think that's necessarily any sort of criticism of Jaylen Brown at all but because we are here and because again since they were're starting to lean in that direction months ago we are now talking about Jaylen Brown being the current reigning NBA Finals MVP it does change how the conversation looks and and that's just something they decided they were comfortable living with I'm just trying to get you ready Dave for the first episode of First Take when wimbledon's over I mean this is this this may be the first hour when Stephen A has uh the microphone back on you know just trying to get you ready I appreciate that rich yeah listen we try to help Dave there may be an eye on rich and eyes and I'm a team player catch the rich eyes and show every single day on the Roku Channel 1200 to 3 Eastern for free