Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Tatum followed up that 21-point effort by scoring a Boston-best 23 points in Wednesday’s 81-70 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Tatum connected on 10 of 18 shots, showcased an array of silky offensive moves and added 10 rebounds over 31 minutes.
Even as the Celtics celebrate the impending acquisition of free-agent prize Gordon Hayward, there’s tremendous excitement within the organization about Tatum’s potential, especially given the early returns.
“He’s gonna be a pretty good player in this league for a long time,” said Celtics summer league coach Jerome Allen. “As the days pass I think I’m beyond being surprised by what he’s able to do on the floor from a number of different spots on the floor.
“At 19, his soul seems mature and older. His approach — he doesn’t get sped up. He’s physical, he competes, he rebounds, he puts it on the floor, he passes, he scores from the post, midrange and long ball. You’d be hard-pressed to find another 19-year-old in this country that just has the demeanor that he has.”
“He’s amazing. I think he’s a hell of a talent,” said Celtics 2016 second-round pick Abdel Nader, the G League rookie of the year last season. “He’ll be a great asset to the Boston Celtics this year.”
ESPNBoston — Celtics rookie Jayson Tatum: Kobe Bryant used to be my favorite player
As we continue to speculate about who will no longer be on the Celtics by this time next week, let’s stop and talk about a guy who undoubtedly will.
Top picks are supposed to play well in Summer League, but the way Jayson Tatum has shot out of the gate in his first two games gives Celtics fans the green light to get justifiably excited about his potential to contribute this season.
Summer League games can look and feel frenetic, with guys desperate to make an impact, coaches coaching for development and not for Ws, and the nerves that come, for many of these guys, playing in their first game(s) after college.
Through all of that fray, Tatum looks calm, confident and skilled. One can certainly understand why Danny Ainge and co. were enamored enough with him to trade down and make the pick and the comments from his coach and teammate reify the selection.
**Also, I find it funny how Abdel Nader speaks as though he knows he won’t be on the Celtics in the fall. “He’ll be a great asset to the Boston Celtics this year,” Nader said, and then let out a deep sigh and shudder while thinking about a January trip to Sioux Falls to the play the G-League’s Skyforce.**
Related links:
Mass Live — Jayson Tatum draws rave reviews
On page 2, Isaiah dishes on Hayward and what could have been
The Celtics won the top seed in the East this past season, but still got blasted by James and company in the Conference Finals. During a recent SiriusXM NBA radio appearance on The Runway with Jason Terry, Thomas suggested Hayward should at least help close the gap.
“We won the Eastern Conference outright in the regular season and then we just didn’t have enough against the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Thomas said on the radio show Wednesday night. “But adding a guy like Hayward, it makes us feel like we can really compete and get to the Finals and win the East in the playoffs.”
Once Thomas is healthy, the Celtics will have two dangerous All-Star creators. Asked whether he or Hayward should have the ball late in games, Thomas replied, “You can’t go wrong with either of us.”
The Celtics reportedly hoped to acquire both Hayward and Paul George this summer, but the Indiana Pacers moved George to the Oklahoma City Thunder shortly before the free-agency period opened.
“That would have been – oh man, it would have been an amazing move,” Thomas said (audio here). “But I know we kept trying and we were trying to acquire him, but it just didn’t work out for whatever reason. And you know with us around the Celtics, we have trust in the front office, Danny Ainge and those guys. We didn’t get Paul George but we got Gordon Hayward who was an All-Star and one of the top players in the NBA.”
Words to back up the dance moves from Isaiah. I.T. is never shy about his desire to add star power to the Celtics, even if it means parting with current teammates (can we even be certain that Thomas would be in the Cs future plans if the team scored George as well and then had to pay him in 2018?).
Love his enthusiasm and can’t wait to watch Thomas operate with another scorer on the floor. I didn’t include the entirety of his comments on who gets the last shot, but Thomas takes time explaining that both guys are going to want the ball in their hands with the game on the line. Will we see the same 4th quarter Isaiah that we saw last year? The one who starts to cook and then goes Iso over and over again while teammates watch?
Let me be clear, I’m not criticizing that Isaiah, but with Hayward in the fold, he may not have to take matters into his own hands every fourth quarter. The late game dynamic will be interesting to watch.
Finally, keep your eyes on the big-man bargain bin
With the need to clear roster and cap space, coupled with the need to acquire a rebounder, the Celtics are working on two fronts that may or may not be separate.
Once they sign Hayward and are capped out, they will likely be looking at cap exceptions to sign a player. In that case, the longer it takes the club to work out the first set of moves could impact what’s left in the free agent pool.
“Every team has to do it,” said Ainge. “Every team has to juggle lots of moving parts. Players have to juggle, too. They have to listen to what’s out there. It’s a challenging time of the year for us and everybody in the league.”
Herald — Danny Ainge working to clear cap-space for Gordon Hayward
The sooner this sign and trade can happen, the sooner the Cs can start using their exceptions to bring in cheap rim-protectors. Chuck alluded to Dwayne Dedmon yesterday, but Chris Mannix is hinting at another big guy… Brace yourself:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUGdmnMxe0E
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