When ESPN analyst Brian Windhorst speculated about Team USA’s roster management against South Sudan, it was purely out of instinct and based on previous tweaks. However, he did not expect that the star of the South Sudan game, Bam Adebayo, would take it to heart and respond with a GIF of 50 Cent’s ‘baffling’ reaction. Hours later, things got worse for Brian as media vet Stephen A. Smith also joined in to back Adebayo’s choice, leaving his colleague in the lurch.

While calling out the benching of Jayson Tatum, Stephen A. Smith took a pragmatic approach to the South Sudan game since he addressed the little interaction between Bam and Windy, stating, “I saw Bam Adebayo clapping back at my man Brian Windhorst because Brian Windhorst that one of the big ones who wasn’t going to play and he suggested it would be Bam Adebayo instead of Joel Embiid and Bam took some kind of offense at that and tweeted something out with some lyrics from 50 cent, I got all of that.”

However, Smith did not contradict Bam on his reaction since he further added, “But Bam has a point because he can run and up down the floor in a way that Joel Embiid might find problematic, so you need to sit this one out big fells. That makes total sense,” on the Stephen A. Smith Show Joel Embiid had to sit on the sidelines for the South Sudan game since the opponent was more active on the perimeter. Team USA needed defenders to cover distance quicker while creating scoring opportunities.

And Joel Embiid’s style of play + all the injury troubles weren’t compatible with Steve Kerr’s plan. In fact, The Process only averaged 10.4 points with under 7 rebounds across the five showcase games. And to make matters worse, Steve Kerr brought him off only after 11 minutes on his Olympics debut, during which he only managed a mere 4 points. That’s why the ESPN vet resonated with the GSW mastermind when he benched the Sixer against South Sudan. But he didn’t seem convinced with the Tatum one.

Stephen A. Smith opposed coach Kerr’s decision to snub NBA Champion, considering it unthoughtful

No doubt the ESPN analyst seemed to be completely in support of Joel Embiid‘s omission from Team USA, considering his lack of impact and performance. However, after the Jayson Tatum omission, he pointed it out and said, “If you decided to bench Jayson Tatum in the game against Serbia, well, you got a knee injury, or you got an ankle injury, or you go back injury. We need you to sit out for this one; we got this covered, that makes sense.”

But that was not the case for Jayson Tatum, rather, Steve Kerr decided not to let him play, despite him being fully fit. That’s what troubled the ESPN veteran as he further went on with his rant, “To sit up there and go to him before the game knowing he had no physical ailment whatsoever, knowing he was ready to go and to look him in the face with a straight face and say well we gonna probably bench you because we’ve got 10 other dudes that we’re comfortable playing before you. How could you not think that would affect him?”

Overall, as per Stephen A. Smith, Kerr benching Tatum was more like an insult since that decision made him look bad on his priority scale. That might also be the reason that the Celt seemed to be bothered. No doubt the experienced head coach’s intentions might be for the betterment and success of Team USA’s Olympics run, but it did not go well with the Celtics star.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.