Rumors

Gary Washburn on Jayson Tatum recruiting Damian Lillard: I just was told that they're communicating and Tatum is recruiting. I mean, Tatum is the face of the franchise. So, yeah, you're told he's recruiting. I don't know if they're like FaceTiming every day or they're on Snapchat and sharing videos and you know, ‘look at my uh rehab video. I'm swimming. Yeah, I'm swimming. What about you? What are you up to, Dame?’ Like, I don't know if it's that deep but they are communicating and I think we all know Tatum's going to be here for a long time and I think that the players who have come to Boston, from Kevin Garnett to Ray Allen to Isaiah Thomas, even our friend Marcus Morris, guys who we traditionally thought might not like it here ended up really liking it in Boston and didn't want to leave, all the way now to Jrue Holiday.

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Damian Lillard remains a free agent but is considering his options, and the Celtics are indeed one of them. The nine-time All-Star is in no hurry to sign, but the Celtics are interested in a multi-year deal that would allow him to return fully healthy from his torn Achilles for the 2026-27 season in a Celtics uniform along with a healed Tatum for a title run. According to NBA sources, Jayson Tatum has been active in recruiting Lillard to Boston, and the market for the point guard is limited because his injury will prevent him from likely playing most of next season. Lillard sustained his injury on April 27, 15 days prior to Tatum’s injury.

Boston Globe

Lillard is considering his options, but the Celtics have their taxpayer mid-level contract to offer. And the consensus from talking to league executives here in Las Vegas is the Celtics do have a chance in the Lillard sweepstakes.

Boston Globe

Since the kids brought it up—how much do you check in on Jayson? We were at the Auerbach Center today, and Brad said he’s in there every day. We even saw him doing the water workout. Derrick White: Yeah, I know he’s at the practice facility every day. I know he’s probably bored and wants to do more, but I’ve just been checking in here and there, seeing how he’s doing, how his summer’s going. I just know he’s doing everything he can to recover quickly. Hope to see him soon.

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Bobby Manning: Brad Stevens said C’s knew they were going to have difficult decisions to make regardless of the Jayson Tatum injury. “We’ve known for a long time…I think the agents and players have known too. It’s been pretty well communicated.” Notes they had limited tools to keep Luke Kornet, Al Horford.

Twitter

Jay King: Brad Stevens said the Celtics front office spoke to the Pacers after Tyrese Haliburton’s injury and asked if there was anything they could do to help, after going through a similar situation with Jayson Tatum weeks earlier.

Twitter

Noa Dalzell: Jayson Tatum posted a video of himself walking in a pool today on Instagram as he continues his Achilles rupture rehab

x.com

Paul Pierce on Celtics: As long as you got Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, you can figure out the other pieces because they still relatively young. I mean JB will be 29 coming up I believe. And Tatum 27 next year. Uh so they still got a lot. And then the way y'all playing look at KD is 30 is 37. Still playing high level. Steph 37, Bron 40. You know, even yourself in your 30s, y'all still play at a high level. So, they are in their prime. So, you can say for the next six years, let's see what's up with these two.

YouTube

Jayson Tatum is already back in the gym

reddit

According to Zach Lowe of The Ringer, the Toronto Raptors sniffed around White and offered the No. 9 pick (which they used to select South Carolina forward Colin Murray-Boyles). “There were reports that the Raptors offered the No. 9 pick for Derrick White,” Lowe said on his podcast “The Zach Lowe Show” on June 26. “I’m told that’s true, but that it happened a month and a half ago after Jayson Tatum got hurt, and Boston laughed at that offer and said, ‘We need way more than No. 9 for Derrick White.’”

Heavy.com

Jayson Tatum: Day 45… this is some bullshit

x.com

“The biggest challenge for our team is our first-team All-NBA player is in a boot,” Stevens said. “We know that going into next year. Everything else is second to that on how we build, grow, and improve as much as we can. I said when I sat down in front of everybody a few weeks ago, my goal is to compete for championships. There will be inevitably a lot that goes into being in the mix for those. “We have to prioritize the health of those two guys [Tatum and Jaylen Brown] and at the same time make sure we’re regaining some of our flexibility.”

Boston Globe

Jared Weiss: Brad Stevens was asked if he has a timeline for Jayson Tatum's return: "We don't and we won't. We won't put a projected timeline on him for a long, long time. There's no reason to. It's baby steps right now. He's actually progressing great."

x.com

The NBA had already convened a panel of experts to study Achilles tendon injuries even before Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton ruptured his in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday night. The league had seven known Achilles injuries this season - Pacers forwards James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray and Miami guard Dru Smith had them in the regular season, and Boston's Jayson Tatum, Milwaukee's Damian Lillard and Haliburton were hurt in the playoffs. Silver, speaking to ESPN as part of its NBA draft coverage, said there weren't any in the NBA in the previous season. "We had already convened a panel of experts before Tyrese's most recent Achilles rupture," Silver said on the telecast. "We had seven this year. We had zero last year under the exact same circumstances. The most we've ever had in a season is four."

ESPN