Jayson Tatum emphasized that he still hasn’t made a decision on whether to return this season as he met with reporters before the Celtics practiced on Saturday, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. However, Tatum did discuss a workout he took part in this week in San Francisco with teammates and assistant coaches.
“There was a little five-on-five,” he said. “It’s tough to go into detail of every single thing I do every day. But I will say getting acclimated more and doing limited things with some of the guys out there. It’s all a part of the rehab.”
That session, combined with Tatum scrimmaging with Boston’s G League affiliate earlier this month, has fans buzzing that he might be ready for game action soon, Terada adds. Tatum refused to assign a percentage to his recovery, but said, “I know what 100% feels like.” However, he hasn’t practiced with the Celtics yet, which is one of several hurdles that have to be cleared before a comeback can be considered.
“It just kind of depends on how he continues to hit those checkmarks, whatever they may be,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “At the end of the day, we have to make sure the main goal has always been get to 100%, get to as healthy as you possibly can and go from there. He’s done a great job working. My hope is that he gets as healthy as he can.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
Prior to Thursday’s matchup with the Warriors, Al Horford told reporters that his decision to leave Boston in free agency last summer was “something that’s deeper than just the basketball stuff of it,” relays Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link). Horford spent the previous four seasons with the Celtics before accepting a two-year offer from Golden State that includes a nearly $6MM player option for next season. “And it’s something that at some point I’ll share with people,” Horford said, “but for me it felt like it was the time for me to go elsewhere.”
Dalano Bantonwho inked a 10-day contract on Thursday, is thankful to get another chance with the Celtics, per Adam Himmelsbach and Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (subscription required). Banton signed with Boston prior to the 2023/24 season, but was sent to Toronto at that year’s trade deadline. “Definitely grateful for the opportunity,” he said. “A lot of familiar faces here. I had a good short time here. That relationship still lasts. Kept in touch with a lot of the organization, a lot of staff while I was away. I feel like I had a good time here and building relationships with people go a long way and I’m grateful for them to bring me back.”
In a mailbag column, Brian Robb of MassLive points to Ron Harper Jr. as the player most likely to be signed when the Celtics are able to afford a rest-of-season contract without going into tax territory. Harper is currently on a two-way deal and has appeared in 11 NBA games this season.
Comments are closed.