Even though there was no official return date set, the progress around Jayson Tatum\u2019s injury was always optimistic. Being ahead in his recovery, facing no setbacks, and Boston dominating the East at #3, felt like the stars were aligned. But those hopes will have to be curbed after the latest update from league sources.<\/p>\n
Chris Haynes confirmed, \u201cLeague sources just informed me right now that Jayson Tatum is now re-evaluating his situation, and it is up in the air on if he\u2019s going to return at all this season.\u201d The senior reporter even revealed that the Celtics superstar was pretty confident earlier of \u201creturning at some point.\u201d But because of a \u201ccouple of factors,\u201d his return date remains undecided.<\/p>\n
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That decision could stem from his recent candid confession. \u201cThat\u2019s (about the dream of returning) something I contemplate every day,\u201d Tatum said on \u201cThe Pivot Podcast\u201d when asked how much he thinks about how he will fit back in when he returns. \u201cMore so about the team.\u201d His thought process for the team stems from the fact that Boston already racked up 29 wins and carved an identity without him. That\u2019s raised a lot of questions in his mind as he recovers from the Achilles\u2019 injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere obviously could be some challenges. And it is a thought: Do I come back? Should I wait? It\u2019s something that I honestly, recently, in the last two weeks or so just kind of contemplate every single day.\u201d Tatum is apparently considering these multiple factors in evaluating his return. Everyone thought Tatum would make a quick recovery from his Achilles surgery, but things have changed.<\/p>\n
There were encouraging reports that Jayson Tatum<\/a> previously faced no setbacks in his recovery since he went through surgery in May. Even NBA insider Jake Fischer had described the positive mindset of the Boston Celtics star. \u201cTatum has told friend of The Stein Line Chris Haynes that he intends to return from last May\u2019s torn Achilles before this season\u2019s playoffs. An official timetable for a Tatum comeback has not yet been released.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Beantown thought Jayson Tatum would return this season, but Chris Haynes says the situation is now \u201cup in the air\u201d. A lot to think about for the franchise front office as the trade deadline approaches.<\/p>\n Jayson Tatum\u2019s uncertainty might help the $27.6 million star<\/p>\n Until Tatum\u2019s update, the Celtics were shopping Anfernee Simons\u2019 $27.6 million expiring contract<\/a>. The requirement was simple: an impact starting center, according to a Jan. 25 report from Evan Sidery. With the idea of Tatum returning, the roster around him is not built to absorb that transition as currently constructed.<\/p>\n According to Sidery\u2019s report, the Celtics have inquired about Ivica Zubac, Nic Claxton, Onyeka Okongwu, and Daniel Gafford. These names clearly hint at Boston looking to solve its defensive anchor problems, who can also protect the rim. A clear upgrade over current players Neemias Queta and Luka Garza, who aren\u2019t elite when it comes to stabilizing the paint. So, shipping Simons when Jayson Tatum was somewhat ready for return made sense. But now that\u2019s no longer the case.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n On the court, Simons has been a useful contributor. The 26-year-old is fifth best for minutes, fourth best for points, and assists. These efforts prove his value, and without Tatum, he might get some extended rope on the team.<\/p>\n The post Will Jayson Tatum Play This Season? Insider Provides Return Update After Celtics Star\u2019s Confession<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Even though there was no official return date set, the progress around Jayson Tatum\u2019s injury was always optimistic.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":568406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3766],"tags":[4329,7,45,75,3798,46,1717,2619,2683,532,77,17915,6,4986,2728,493],"class_list":["post-568405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boston-celtics","tag-anfernee-simons","tag-basketball","tag-boston","tag-boston-celtics","tag-bostonceltics","tag-celtics","tag-chris-haynes","tag-daniel-gafford","tag-david-butler","tag-ivica-zubac","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-luka-garza","tag-nba","tag-neemias-queta","tag-nic-claxton","tag-onyeka-okongwu"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115978245623167616","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/568406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}