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The Damian Lillard saga is finally over, as the seven-time All-Star was shockingly traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. And while acquiring Lillard wasn't realistic for the Boston Celtics, star Jayson Tatum still tried his best to bring “Dame Time” to Beantown.
Before the former Portland Trail Blazer was sent to Wisconsin, Tatum made his best recruiting pitch over the phone, per the Boston sports radio show “Toucher and Rich.”
“I told [Lillard] Boston would love to have you if he ever considered it,” Tatum revealed. “I wasn’t trying to change his mind … When someone has their mind made up, you have to respect it. We talk on FaceTime from time to time, so every once in a while I would tell him Boston is a great place if you didn’t know.”
Tatum's attempt was ultimately unsuccessful, but that doesn't mean Boston struck out this offseason. In fact, in the aftermath of the Lillard move, the Celtics traded for former Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday. Even though he couldn't attend Celtics Media Day, the two-time All-Star is officially a Celtic after passing his physicals on Tuesday.
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Jrue Holiday sighting at the practice facility 👀 pic.twitter.com/w2dmICi9j4
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) October 3, 2023
If Lillard never went to the Bucks, the C's probably wouldn't have traded for Holiday. Yet, in an attempt to keep up in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics went all in for the talented two-way guard. Alongside Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and first-year Celtic Kristaps Porzingis, Holiday will be the fourth former All-Star in Boston's starting lineup—and possibly fifth if the Green Team puts center Al Horford in the first five.
In the end, Lillard to the Celtics was a pipe dream. However, Boston still kept busy this offseason in the hopes of creating its first championship roster in over 15 years.
