With the mystery of the NBA Trade Deadline in the rear-view mirror, there’s little for Boston Celtics fans to wonder about in the short term, besides Jayson Tatum’s potential return. Of course, the Celtics have played the entire season without him, as the superstar forward has been working his way back from a torn Achilles tendon.
His absence from the lineup, however, doesn’t mean that he’s been out of the public eye. Tatum’s made appearances at just about every game this season, home or away, supporting his teammates on the bench. Plus, he’s shared plenty of clips of his various workouts throughout his recovery process.
As the days go on, the anticipation of his eventual return to the lineup continues to build. Despite that, there’s been little update from the 27-year-old or the team about how close he is -- understandably so.
It would just be a distraction at this point.
NBA Insider Jake Fischer shared that sources believe Boston may have tipped their hand with their decision to bring in veteran big man Nikola Vucevic when it traded Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls last week.
“This season's Celtics have managed to contend for a top-two seed in the East even without the injured Jayson Tatum,” Fischer wrote in Tuesday’s Steinline newsletter. “Sources say that the Celtics' decision to acquire Nikola Vučević from Chicago before the trade deadline, in exchange for Anfernee Simons’ expiring contract, was a clear indicator that Boston believes Tatum will indeed return for a postseason run."
Celtics' willingness to trade Anfernee Simons may have tipped their hand
Though Fischer’s update is exciting, it’s worth noting that the Celtics very rarely let anything leak out from within the organization. They’re notoriously tight-lipped. This doesn’t mean what he’s hearing isn’t true; it just means it’s worth taking with a grain of salt.
The reasoning does make sense, though. Logically speaking, the front office’s decision to swap a microwave bench scorer for a proven presence on the glass (among other things) only really elevates the squad’s ceiling if Tatum comes back.
Vucevic definitely brings a skillset that Boston didn’t previously have, and adds depth to a thin frontcourt. At the same time, despite going 3-1 through the first four games without Simons, there have been stretches where his scoring ability is clearly missed.
Instead of having three players alongside Jaylen Brown who can potentially go off for 40, now, the Celtics have just two: Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. Both men have had great moments this season, but neither has delivered consistently enough on offense to be a concrete second option.
In a situation where neither can get it going, like in Sunday’s loss to the New York Knicks, having Simons would undoubtedly be beneficial. It’s tough to imagine the front office doesn’t understand this. Maybe they simply value an additional option at center more, or maybe they were willing to sacrifice Simons’ scoring punch because they knew they had an All-NBA-level scorer gearing up to return.
Then, six days after the trade, the team announced that Tatum had been assigned to practice with Boston’s G-League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. It’d be perhaps overzealous to think a return was imminent, but a scrimmage with the G-League squad isn’t exactly an early step in the recovery process.
Regardless, as much as I, or any other writer, fan, or anyone in between speculates on this, it’s not going to get him back any faster. The deciding factor is, and always has been, Tatum being 100% ready to step back onto the court.