Boston Celtics News: Jayson Tatum Has Beef with GM Danny Ainge, Kyrie Irving Surprised Him & More

Boston Celtics second-year forward Jayson Tatum is still a bit salty General Manager Danny Ainge didn’t take him with the top pick in the NBA Draft and more Celtics news and rumors to start the day.

At the annual Boston Celtics Shamrock Gala Event, which raises money for local children’s charities, Jayson Tatum shared some big news–he’s still got beef with Celtics GM Danny Ainge for trading down from the No.1 spot in last year’s draft to select Tatum No. 3 and gain a future first round draft pick in the process.

Tatum, of course, would have preferred to have gone No. 1 overall for bragging rights, according to NBC Sports Boston.

"Irving had been asked about playing at Duke when Tatum playfully interrupted to note, “[Irving] only played seven games in college.”Irving laughed then noted it was actually 11 games. Added Irving, “It takes others 30 games, or 60 games [to get drafted]. It takes some people 11. … Eleven games to get drafted. No. 1, baby.”As laughter died down, Tatum deadpanned, “It’s Danny’s fault I didn’t go No. 1,” which only drew more laughter from those on stage and in the crowd."

All jokes aside, Tatum is probably beyond happy that he fell into the situation that he did in the draft. Not only did Tatum get drafted into a winning culture set up for years of future success, but he also was thrust into a starring role due to Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward‘s season-ending injuries. Tatum now looks like a budding superstar, and Ainge can potentially pick in the lottery again next season with the Sacramento Kings pick he picked up.

No word yet on whether one of the local charities at the Gala was set up to raise money for Tatum, money that was left on the table due to Ainge’s dirty move to trade down for Tatum.

Boston Celtics News & Notes From Around FanSided

Boston Celtics 2018-2019 NBA Season Preview [Kane Pitman — Hoops Habit]

Three goals for Robert Williams III in rookie season [Joe DeFerrari — Chowder and Champions]

Former Hardwood Houdini contributor Joe DeFerrari breaks down how Williams III can make an impact this season on a loaded Celtics front court.

Jayson Tatum: The key to Boston’s 2018-19 NBA championship pursuit [Trevor Barber — Hoops Habit]

Barber details how Tatum will have to adapt to a different role now that Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving have returned. How he handles the new role will determine the Celtics success, the author argues.

At Hardwood Houdini, we recently broke down 3 Ways Tatum Can Improve to Become a Star.

More Boston Celtics News From Around the Internet

Celtics raise over $1 million for local children’s charity at annual Shamrock Gala Event [Chris Grenham — Celtics Blog]

The Celtics raised a ton of money for charity (someone bid $25K to play Gordon Hayward in Fortnite) and coach Brad Stevens and owner Wyc Grousbec answered questions about a possible Terry Rozier contract extension. Win-win.

Kyrie Irving’s announcement was a surprise to Celtics GM Danny Ainge [Calli Remillard — Boston.com]

Most bets placed on Lakers, Celtics to win NBA title, sports books say [Gabrielle McMillen — Sporting News]

Right now, the Celtics are at 5-1 odds to win the title, while the Lakers are 12-1. No idea why anyone would bet on Los Angeles, even with those odds. There is a zero percent chance the Lakers win a championship this season–that’s just throwing money down the toilet. They’ll be happy just to make the playoffs.

For the Boston Celtics, more stars are better, right? [Benjamin Hoffman– New York Times]

Larry Bird lookalike: Boston Celtics legend is model for Oklahoma F Brady Manek’s appearance, game [Matt Vautor — MassLive]

Maine Red Claws Trade Anthony Bennett for former Golden State Warriors player [Quenton Albertie — Celtics Wire]

Be sure to place your bets on Boston to win the championship (WARNING: Prediction results may vary) and check back for more Celtics news and rumors.