Jaylen Brown is already looking forward to next season and the chance to run things back with the same Celtics core.
Grant Hill and Jaylen Brown haven't seen eye-to-eye about Brown's omission from Team USA in 2024. But Hill says he's willing to move past their differences.
Hill, the managing director for USA Basketball who had final say in the club's 12-man roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, spoke with host Rachel Nichols on the All The Smoke podcast Wednesday about Team USA replacing the injured Kawhi Leonard with Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, a decision that set Brown off on social media.
"When you have a team with the profile of players on this team, you know there's going to be controversy," Hill told Nichols. "Yeah, (the controversy with Brown) was disappointing, but look, you've got to do your job. You've got to do the job the best you can. I've tried to do this the right way."
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Brown believed his omission from the roster was tied to his past criticism of Nike, the official apparel sponsor of Team USA. Hill dismissed Brown's stance as a "conspiracy theory," which caused the NBA Finals MVP to fire back and call Hill's comments "disappointing."
Despite all that back-and-forth, Hill insists he's ready to let bygones be bygones -- and even suggested Brown would be in the mix for the 2028 Olympic roster if he wants to participate.
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"It's a lot of noise," Hill said. "I'm confident that he and I will sit down at some point and talk about it and get to some level of understanding, and he'll be a candidate if he wants in '28.
"One thing I've learned is you can't take anything personal in this role. So, I haven't personalized anything. My goal, my objective is to win, and as soon as hopefully that happens, we pivot and we start looking ahead to the future."
Brown would be 31 years old for the 2028 Olympics, but there's a good chance he'll still be in the prime of his career. Considering those Olympics are in Los Angeles, we'd imagine the Celtics star would jump at the opportunity to help the U.S. defend its home turf -- unless his stance against Nike sways him in the other direction.
Three of Brown's current Celtics teammates -- Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White -- will suit up for Team USA in Thursday's semifinal matchup with Serbia at 3 p.m. ET as the Americans seek their fifth consecutive gold medal.
And if they accomplish that task, Hill is open to righting a perceived wrong and welcoming Brown into the fold in 2028.
