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This summer could have looked much different for the Boston Celtics. But, new ownership, a ghastly injury to All-Star Jayson Tatum, and an early playoff exit have forced the front office to place financial responsibility ahead of potential basketball supremacy.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was honest when asked what the “best thing “ would be for Boston going forward.
“Getting Tatum out of a boot,” Stevens said, via Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints.
Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during the Celtics’ second-round postseason series with the New York Knicks. He has been actively recovering, and the franchise has maintained a positive outlook regarding the situation.
“I think one of the things about the Tatum injury that is really important to us is that there's no expectation on timeline to return, but there's an expectation of fully returning.”
When healthy, Tatum is one of the game’s most elite players. Across 72 games, the St. Louis native averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists while shooting around 45 percent from the field.
Tatum and teammate Jaylen Brown have been an elite tandem for Boston. They were the driving force behind the team’s 2024 championship run, and their productivity may explain why the front office was content to deal Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to get under the second apron while also allowing both Luke Kornet and Al Horford to walk.
While these other players were key pieces, Tatum and Brown are the duo that the franchise has built around for nearly a decade.
Even if Boston had won a second straight NBA Finals this season with a healthy Tatum, Stevens acknowledged that the team still knew changes were coming due to the financial burden in play.
“I think the reality is that, you know, we knew going into this year regardless of how it ended, that we were going to have some really hard decisions to make because of the penalties,” Stevens said.
The former head coach also added that the inevitable penalties encouraged Boston to make the most of their situation before they had to pay the financial price.
Tatum’s return may be far off, but it seems as though the Celtics will be ready to strike once the champion is back on the parquet.
