Earlier, NBA star Carmelo Anthony talked about the situation in his podcast "7PM in Brooklyn" where Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was DNP by head coach Steve Kerr twice when facing Serbia in the Paris Olympics against the Boston Celtics. Anthony seemed very dissatisfied with Tatum's experience, and he also severely criticized Kerr's way of using people.

Anthony said: I can accept you telling me in advance that I can't play in the game, but I hope you can tell me honestly. I think this is where Kerr and Tatum lack communication, because we have been together in Las Vegas for a long time before, and you should have known how you see my position in the team's deep lineup. So I hope you can have this conversation in private so that I can be mentally and emotionally prepared to be a substitute and unable to play. Anthony continued: So if you regard Tatum as the team's 9th, 10th or even 11th person, then please communicate with me in advance so that we can complete this conversation in advance. If I were Tatum, Kerr would never do that to me, because I would be very angry.

In the previous Paris Olympics, Tatum played 4 times for the US team in 6 games, averaging 17.7 minutes per game, averaging 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.5 steals, 1 block, 0.5 turnovers and 0.8 fouls, shooting 47.1%, 0% from three-point range, 83.3% from free throws, and an average plus-minus of +4.3. Tatum was indeed not valued during the Olympics. He did not play much and was DNPed by Kerr twice, which led to his performance not fully meeting expectations, and there was a huge gap between his performance and the level he showed in the NBA.

In the NBA regular season last season, Tatum played 74 times for the Boston Celtics, averaging 35.7 minutes per game, averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1 steal, 0.6 blocks, shooting 47.1%, 37.6% from the three-point line, and 83.3% from the free throw line. In the playoffs, Tatum played 19 times for the team, averaging 40.4 minutes per game, averaging 25 points, 9.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks, shooting 42.7%, 28.3% from the three-point line, and 86.1% from the free throw line. In fact, there is really nothing wrong with Anthony's statement. Tatum has been selected for the NBA All-Star Team in the past three seasons and the All-Star Team in the past five seasons. He also helped the Celtics win the long-awaited championship last season. Such a player often sits on the bench in the US team. Doesn't it sound a bit unreasonable?