Jayson Tatum's Potential Injury Return Didn't Impact Celtics Trade Deadline Deals, Brad Stevens Says

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said that star forward Jayson Tatum's potential return from a torn Achilles suffered last May did not impact the team's decisions prior to the trade deadline.

"If you kind of look at who you have to go through, the paths you might have to take, you just can't get worn down physically," Stevens said, per comments relayed by Jay King of The Athletic.

"And we were going to be much smaller. And now we at least have big options. Obviously, any team with Jayson Tatum's going to be better, so if that happens, that happens. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. But we just thought that redistributing our positional needs was probably the most important thing."

Boston made four moves in total, with the big one being the acquisition of Nikola Vučević and a second-round pick from the Chicago Bulls for guard Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick.

The Celtics also made three other trades, sending Chris Boucher to the Utah Jazz, Josh Minott to the Brooklyn Nets and Xavier Tillman to the Charlotte Hornets.

It's unclear when Tatum will return. Stevens gave a brief update during his press conference.

"He's hit a lot of the thresholds," Stevens said, per Conor Roche of boston.com. "He's doing more and more and will continue to do more and more. He's still got a ways to go."

On Jan. 29, Tatum told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne that he was considering delaying his return until after the season. He said he "wants to get it right the first time, so it's just a lot to think about."

The 27-year-old Tatum made the All-NBA First Team each of the last four seasons, averaging 27.7 PPG, 8.4 RPG and 5.0 APG during that stretch. Tatum also helped lead the Celtics to their 18th NBA title in 2024.

Obviously, he's an integral part of their present and future, and the C's would love to have him back as soon as he's healthy and able.

In the meantime, the Celtics have been strong Eastern Conference contenders even without the superstar, going 33-18 so far and residing in third place. They are taking a four-game winning streak into a three-game homestand that begins Friday with the Miami Heat.