Did the Achilles tendon injury suffered by Jayson Tatum make it easier for the Boston Celtics to shed salary? If you ask Hall of Fame Celtics forward Paul Pierce, the unfortunate injury to Tatum made the changes to the team he sees as inevitable due to the league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and its brutal second apron penalties easier for fans of the storied franchise to swallow.
Speaking with Heavy Dot Com senior NBA reporter Steve Bulpett, the Truth broke down how he sees Tatum’s Achilles mishap shaping the state of the team he won a title with in 2008 in the present. “I’m not sure if that injury played a big role in the changes, because I feel like they still would have been in the same situation even if Tatum didn’t get hurt, as far as luxury tax and the second apron and all of those things,” said Pierce. “Whether he’s hurt or not, I think they would have had to still make these decisions.”
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“But I do think it made it easier to make them,” he added. “Like, let’s say Jayson’s healthy and they won the championship.”
Oct 18, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) talks with former Celtics great Paul Pierce after they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
“Then if you break it up, it’s like, what are we doing?” asked Pierce. “So I think it made it easier to make those moves with Jrue (Holiday) and (Kristaps) Porzingis and all that.”
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Paul Pierce on if Tatum injury made it easier for Celtics to cut costs