The signs pointing to Jayson Tatum’s return are all over the place. His workouts, his media tour, and even the Boston Celtics trade for Nikola Vucevic all point to Tatum coming back relatively soon. 

But Tatum stunned people last week when he admitted that he was hesitant about rejoining a work in progress. 

“They have an identity this year … and it’s been successful,” he said on “The Pivot” podcast. “So there’s a thought in my head … how does that look with me integrating myself off an injury and 50-60 games into a season? Obviously, there could be some challenges. And it is a thought like, damn, do I come back, or should I wait? It’s something that I honestly, recently, in the last like two weeks or so, kind of just kind of contemplate every single day.”

On one hand, it’s understandable, because he was there when Gordon Hayward tried to come back and saw how the snags Hayward hit triggered locker room dissension. On the other hand, this is a much different locker room with proven talent eager for him to return. 

“We definitely want him back, because we know what type of player he is, and it definitely put us over the top,” Payton Pritchard said last week. “It’s not like some player that got hurt and we never played with before, so we know what he is, what he likes, and how he plays, and we can play off him.”

Others have expressed similar thoughts. But Jaylen Brown hasn’t been asked directly about it until after the Celtics win over the Dallas Mavericks Tuesday night. Brown has called this his favorite season a few times already. He’s relishing the opportunity to prove he’s capable of being the top option on a good team. That, along with Tatum’s sudden reluctance about returning, has led to some talking heads rekindling old Brown versus Tatum tropes. 

“Obviously, we would love to have him back.” Brown told reporters in Dallas. “Winning is the most important thing for me, so being able to add to winning and potentially have another deep playoff run is what I’m aiming for. JT is a big part of that.”

And Tatum has been a big part of this team from the beginning. He hasn’t separated himself from everyone to work out on his own back home like some stars have. He’s been at the team facility, in the locker room, and on the bench at home and on the road. Tatum isn’t playing, but he’s still part of the team. 

“I think it’s been good,” Brown said. “I’ve been watching his progression. And I know mentally, he’s been through ups and downs, just like any other person going through adversity in their career. But I just let him know do what’s best for you …

“Outside of it just being physically, like, a setback, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally, all that stuff comes into play as well. So even if you’re physically feeling well, make sure your mind, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, feels great, too. So we trust his decision-making.”

It’s clear his team understands the challenges of coming back and wants to get “Jayson Tatum” back, not someone who is rushing or unsure of himself. Tatum doesn’t want that either. He just doesn’t want to be disruptive. 

“I look at disruption as a positive,” Joe Mazzulla said in a radio appearance last week. “You should never be worried about disrupting in a negative way. He’ll be disrupting in a positive way, because he’ll just make us better on both ends of the floor, and already add to what we’ve been able to build here this season.”

The decision to return will be up to the doctors, trainers, and Tatum. Brown, Mazzulla, and the rest of the Celtics are ready to welcome him back whenever that decision is made. 

“Obviously he has to make the right decision for him and his body and his mind and his spirit,” Brown said. “When it’s time, if he does make that decision, we would love to have him back.”