Jaylen Brown-Grant Hill Team USA drama can persist due to Brown's 'willingness to dance in the eyes of the public'

Sports Illustrated's Liam McKeone believes Jaylen Brown could extend the ongoing drama with Grant Hill over Brown's exclusion from the Team USA basketball team because No. 7's "willingness to dance in the eyes of the public."

"With Team USA playing games that matter beginning today, this story may fade quickly," McKeone prefaced before saying, "But with Brown's willingness to dance in the eyes of the public, it could very well persist far longer than Hill or Team USA would prefer."

It was Hill, however, who continued the war of words by alluding to Brown's accusations toward Nike for leaving him off the team due to his politics as a conspiracy theory.

"I spoke to his agent," Hill said on The Dan Patrick Show. "I don't know if that was before or after things went out on Twitter. But yeah, I mean, I think this idea that there's a conspiracy theory, I always love a good conspiracy theory. But it was really, truly a basketball decision."

Brown didn't let the comment go without firing off a post on X rebuking Hill.

"grant hill calling me a conspiracy theorist is disappointing I’ve been a VP since I was 21 years old I have a great understanding," Brown wrote.

Jaylen Brown drama a black cloud over a Team USA squad that feels vulnerable

It's hard to imagine Team USA ever ceding its massive talent advantage in the Olympics, but talent doesn't always win games. In fact, on the international stage, it's all about cohesion.

And the 2024 Team USA squad doesn't seem to have it like the 2020, 2016, 2012, or 2008 teams did.

It's still overwhelmingly likely that the U.S. will take gold, but there have been endless roster questions thus far; including whether or not Joel Embiid or Kevin Durant should start. Answer those questions and put everyone's ego in check, and there should be no problem getting the job done.

Can Steve Kerr do that, though? He did it with the 2016-18 Golden State Warriors, so there's hope. But there's also going to discomfort until we see it.