Sports update within the morning

Grant Hill on Jaylen Brown not being chosen for Team USA: On Wednesday, USA Basketball announced that Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard is not going to play within the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, despite his original selection to the squad.

The US team announced that Derrick White had been chosen by the Celtics as Leonard's successor.

But despite the fact that three Celtics are on the Olympic roster, the discussion quickly turned to a Boston player who was not chosen. Jaylen Brown, the Celtics' MVP within the NBA Finals, was not considered within the initial roster selection, nor was he considered within the spot that became available after Leonard's withdrawal.

When asked concerning the embarrassment on Wednesday before the U.S.'s pre-Olympic warm-up game against Canada, USA Basketball CEO Grant Hill stressed the importance of balance.

“It’s about putting together a team,” Hill founded. “All in all, there's incredible interest here in the United States from a wealth of talent. I talked about it a little bit when we were putting this roster together. You have 12 spots; you have to build a team. One of the hardest things is cutting guys off the roster that I'm a fan of and enjoy watching throughout the season and the playoffs.”

“Guys who were Finals MVPs,” Hill added. “Guys who were part of the program. Guys who won gold medals. Guys that I respect, admire and enjoy watching. But my responsibility is to put together a team that complements each other, a team that fits together, a team that gives us the best chance to succeed. Whatever theories are out there, they are just that.”

Brown, particularly, had a theory. The 27-year-old appeared to suggest that Nike can have played a job:

Brown has a documented history not being a Nike fan. Hill responded to questions on Brown's Nike stance with a joke.

“Well, I've worn Fila for most of my career,” Hill said seriously, later adding, “I'm kidding.”

“We are obviously proud of our partners,” said Hill. “This is about putting a team together.”

Results and fixtures:

The Red Sox lost 5-2 to the Athletics on Wednesday, with Nick Pivetta allowing 4 runs in 6.2 innings despite ten strikeouts.

The two teams will play again tonight at 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park.

More from Boston.com:

Jayson Tatum plays for Team USA: The Celtics champion marked his return to international business with some beautiful sequences and scored a complete of eight points in 17 minutes within the Olympic preparation win against Canada on Wednesday.

Teammate Jrue Holiday began and finished the sport with 11 points, five rebounds and 4 assists.

On today: In 1969, the Red Sox won a doubleheader against the Orioles and won the primary game 7-4 and the second game 12-3Carl Yastrzemski hit a house run in each game, and Reggie Smith went 7-for-9 and hit a house run within the two wins over Baltimore.

Daily highlight: Just a couple of highlights from Team USA, culminating with a layup by Jrue Holiday.

Celts

Jaylen Brown has had one other impressive season within the Celtics' strong squad within the 2023/24 season.

Even because the signing of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday limited Brown's scoring output somewhat this yr, the 27-year-old swingman still scored 23.0 points per game, sank a personal-best 49.9% of his shots, and averaged 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals.

But after being named to the All-NBA Second Team last season, Brown was neglected of the running for the All-NBA honor within the 2023-24 season.

Jayson Tatum (First Team) was the one Celtics player to earn one among the 15 All-NBA spots this yr. Brown finished just 20 points behind Suns guard Devin Booker and thus in last place on the All-NBA Third Team.

It was a troublesome blow for Brown, as his elimination was not well received by his teammate Payton Pritchard.

“JB, that is definitely an insult,” Pritchard said Thursday afternoon. per video from CLNS Media. “I don't understand how you can be number 1 by a large margin and only have one player. JB has been great all year. A player who plays both ways. He definitely deserves to be there.”

Brown confirmed his status as a top-notch two-way player during Tuesday's Game 1 additional time win, when he forced a Pacers turnover on an errant throw-in and tied the sport with a three-pointer with 5.7 seconds left.

Brown was expected to enter Thursday night's second game against the Pacers with loads of motivation to prove his value as a top-tier NBA star, but Joe Mazzulla acknowledged before the sport that Brown just isn’t focused on individual accolades – at the least not at this point within the NBA calendar.

“I don't have to. He's a very mature guy. … He has a great outlook on life,” Mazzulla said when asked if he had words of encouragement for Brown after his rejection. “He knows what's important and what's not. He works really hard and he knows who he is as a person and as a player, so that's the most important thing.”