It appears that the Boston Celtics will “most likely” reward young star Jayson Tatum for his breakout 2019 campaign. According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, the team is expected to offer a max contract offer to Tatum after this season.
“If Jayson Tatum is the superstar that they envisioned when they began this whole rebuilding process when they traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce for all of those draft picks hoping to land a player like this, we could see ‘Glory Days' for the Celtics again … But it's very much up in the air, and I'm gonna tell ya, they're gonna have to pay him like it because after this season ends, he is going to get most likely a max contract. They're going to bet that he becomes that player.”
Tatum, drafted third overall in 2018, took the next step this season as the 22-year-old forward put up 23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game, all career highs. Tatum also shot 44.8 percent from the field and an efficient 39.8 percent from deep on over seven attempts per game.
Tatum's strong play had helped the Celtics build a 43-21 record through 64 games, good enough for third place in the Eastern Conference.
As for Boston, the team recently gave a four-year, $115 million extension to fellow young star Jaylen Brown prior to the season, a move that has worked out well for the Celtics thus far. If Boston can retain Tatum for the foreseeable future, the Celtics should continue to build around their two young centerpieces as they try to get back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.
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