CP feels Boston Celtics must pursue Jayson Tatum’s friend if Thomas Bryant pursuit fails

NBA free agency started off with fireworks across the league, including the Boston Celtics, who were able to land an ideal TPE target in Danilo Gallinari and then flipped Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, a 2023 first-round draft pick, and spare parts to land Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers on the first day of the FA period. Things have slowed as actual fireworks have taken precedent, but with Independence Day passed and NBA Summer League set to start in ‘Sin City’, the association should be rolling again soon.

Truthfully, Kevin Durant’s trade request has frozen the league’s transaction wire. No less than three teams, including the Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, and Toronto Raptors, are in on his trade market. Curiously enough, his Brooklyn Nets have been the most active team of late, inking Edmond Sumner and T.J. Warren to free-agent deals Tuesday.

But with three roster spots left, the Boston Celtics front office still has some work to do to fill out the fringes surrounding their Eastern Conference championship-winning core. ClutchPoints’ Enzo Flojo floated a few free agents worth pursuing in his piece titled ‘3 moves Celtics still must make after first weekend of 2022 NBA free agency’, and according to Flojo, Boston must pursue Thomas Bryant first and foremost — and if that pursuit fails, Harry Giles should be the next big man on the team’s radar.

Jayson Tatum wants the Boston Celtics to sign his Duke teammate Harry Giles

The Boston Celtics’ 2021-22 All-NBA First Team forward, Jayson Tatum, wants his franchise to pursue his good friend Harry Giles. He made that desire abundantly clear in a forceful all-caps tweet:

Tatum and Giles played together under recently-retired legendary HC Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University in 2016-17. Both players spent a season with the Blue Devils and were subsequently selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft as freshman. Tatum was, of course, taken third by the Celtics and became a superstar, while Giles went No. 20 to the Portland Trail Blazers, was later being dealt to the Sacramento Kings, and has bounced around in the five years since, still yet to find a steady NBA role. If CP had its way, that would change in 2022-23, with Giles re-joining his Blue Devils teammate with the Boston Celtics.