Stephen A Smith Went Scorched Earth On Steve Kerr And He Didn't Tell A Single Lie

Catherine Steenkeste. Getty Images.

Aside from Team USA's utter dominance on the court so far in these Olympics, the bigger story is of course Steve Kerr and his bozo-level rotations. It started with Jayson Tatum getting a DNP-CD because Steve Kerr in his own words said he couldn't find a lineup combination that made sense (lie) and that in a 40 minute game you can only play 10 guys (lie). Then it happened again against South Sudan when it was Embiid's turn to get a DNP-CD despite Steve Kerr suddenly finding a way to play 11 guys after previously telling us you can only play 10. He once again hid behind the "matchup" excuse despite Embiid playing fine against South Sudan in the tune up games.

The point is, Kerr seems obsessed with creating all of this drama for no apparent reason. I'm pretty sure it doesn't matter what players from Team USA are on the court, the US is going to be just fine against the rest of the field. Acting like certain players need to be DNP-CD in order for Team USA to win is easily one of the more outrageous things we've ever seen when it comes to this team competing against the rest of the world.

Now, when it comes to the media, there are two sides here. In one corner, you have someone like Windy who is in Paris and clearly got a certain message from either Kerr or Team USA to start framing these decisions a certain way, which I found interesting

Again, with the talent Team USA has, it really doesn't matter who is out there, nor does it justify a DNP-CD whether that was Tatum or Embiid or whoever it ends up being next.

Compare that to Stephen A, who continues to do nothing but speak the truth in regard to this entire fiasco. There's no clear agenda pushing like Windy seemed to be doing yesterday, and frankly it's refreshing

this was Stephen A doubling down on this topic after his even better rant on his own show

and again, this is not just about Tatum. I want to make that clear. It's just as bullshit as what happened with Embiid the other day, and for some reason, it seems like this is going to be the plan for the rest of the Olympics. Kerr already committed to going back to his original starting lineup against Puerto Rico tomorrow, despite that unit not looking all that great in any of Team USA's games. It all just feels a little strange.

I think we can all agree it's not going to matter in terms of how Team USA performs, but it is something I think everyone from Kerr to Grant Hill needs to consider moving forward. Are the best of the best going to want to sign up for this in 2028 after watching all this? Would anyone blame Tatum/Brown/Embiid etc for saying thanks but no thanks for 2028? I mean, Tatum's case is especially insane considering he was the 2nd best player on the last team that won Gold, but I think we're now all seeing what Warriors fans have been claiming for years now. Steve Kerr's rotations when it comes to a basketball team are infuriating, as long as your name isn't Steph Curry. 

Now, before every game it's a story of who everyone thinks is going to get the DNP-CD. It's a distraction that was completely avoidable which is what makes it so annoying. Really, the entire selection process/rotation issue for Team USA has been a disaster since things first got started, and given the fact that Team USA still isn't even playing all that well (and didn't even medal in the FIBA World Cup under Kerr), maybe it's time to just turn things over to Spo? 

In the meantime, just go kick the shit out of Puerto Rico tomorrow, the internet will freak out over who didn't play for a few days and then it'll be onto the next.