Celtics News: Jayson Tatum Won't Play in 2018 NBA Summer League Games

Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge announced Wednesday small forward Jayson Tatum won't take part in the 2018 NBA Summer League following his standout rookie season.

Ainge called the idea of having Tatum play in the offseason development games "crazy," per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald.

"Jayson is gonna get better, and that's what it is all about," Ainge said. "He has a plan with the coaching staff, and another with the fitness staff, and we'll go from there. We just want him to get better in everything. There are things he can get better at, and he knows what those things are. I'd just rather not say what we've talked about privately."

Tatum played in 80 of the Celtics' 82 games during the regular season and made 19 additional appearances during the team's run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The 20-year-old St. Louis native put up solid numbers in the regular season, averaging 13.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 43.4 percent from three-point range.

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He took his game to another level in the playoffs, though.

Tatum looked like a future superstar as he took control of the Boston offense with Kyrie Irving sidelined because of injury, averaging 18.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals.

"I just love everything about the kid, the way he plays the game, his demeanor, where he comes from," Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James told reporters last month. "I just know he's built for stardom. He's built for success. And that's both on and off the floor."

The combination of Tatum with a full year of experience and what the Celtics hope will be the healthy returns of Irving and Gordon Hayward to go alongside Al Horford and Jaylen Brown should make the team a serious championship contender next season.

Ultimately, it creates a situation where the injury risk of Tatum appearing in the summer league outweighs any potential reward from him playing in the exhibition games.