Jayson Tatum Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Micic, Sixers, Knicks

May 22nd, 2020 at 9:11am CST by Luke Adams

Approximately two-thirds of the NBA’s teams have reopened their practice facilities, but the Celtics aren’t yet among that group. According to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald, the club is still waiting on the go-ahead from the state government before moving forward with those plans. The C’s, who have been in frequent contact with Massachusetts officials, are hoping they’ll get that green light soon, as Bulpett details.

“I mean, we’re hoping it’s any day. We’re just waiting to hear,” Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “… What we’re trying to do is have one-on-zero workouts. Like, it’s probably the cleanest environment that anybody’s working at in the country, with the sanitization that has to go on and the coaches wearing masks and gloves. I mean, heck, it doesn’t seem that complicated. But I understand that people in leadership have very difficult jobs right now.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Serbian point guard Vasilije Micic is coming off an impressive season with EuroLeague team Anadolu Efes and is one of the NBA’s most intriguing draft-and-stash players. The Sixers hold Micic’s NBA rights, prompting Derek Bodner, Mike O’Connor, and Rich Hofmann of The Athletic to explore whether this offseason is the right time for Philadelphia to try to convince the 26-year-old to come stateside.
In Jayson Tatum (Celtics), Pascal Siakam (Raptors), and Ben Simmons (Sixers), the Atlantic Division features a trio of rising young wings who appear poised to play important roles for their teams for years to come. In a two-part series, Jared Weiss, Blake Murphy, and Mike O’Connor of The Athletic debate which of the three players has the brightest future.
It has been a bit of an awkward transition period for the Knicks and new president of basketball operations Leon Rose, who was officially hired just nine days before the NBA’s season was suspended. However, Rose has received positive reviews for the changes he has made to the club’s front office so far, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post.

NBA Players Committee Begins Parsing Comeback Plans

May 12th, 2020 at 8:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The National Basketball Players Association has sent a memo to agents stating that there’s a sense that both the players and the league want to finish the 2019/20 season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

NBPA president Chris Paul is joined by Russell Westbrook, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Lowry, and Dwight Powell on a committee that is working with the league on potential plans.

Paul reportedly held a call with many of the NBA’s superstars on Monday — including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kawhi Leonard — discussing the coronavirus ramifications and the potential to resume the season. Those star players were unified in their desire to play out the 2019/20 campaign.

The NBPA polled players via text, asking them how they felt about completing the season. One player told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that he believes that the percentage is “70-30” of players who want to finish out the campaign.

“But 30% is a big number,” the player said. “And what do you say to somebody who says, ‘You know what, I just don’t feel safe?’ It’s hard to argue that. But there are reasons to argue that because I know the NBA would be one of the safest places to be at. That thing would be tight, clean, protocol, all that.”

Las Vegas and Orlando continue to be tossed around as options to hold clusters of games in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading through travel. However, the league hasn’t made any firm decisions yet.

“We have been approached by multiple properties regarding potential options for hosting NBA games, including MGM,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “We have not engaged in any substantive discussions.”

Pacific Notes: Suns, Tatum, Warriors, Kings

May 12th, 2020 at 5:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum spoke this week about being enamored by the Suns leading up to the 2017 draft and hoping to fall to Phoenix at No. 4. According to Tatum, a meeting with the Suns’ then-coach Earl Watson a few days before the draft helped sell him on the organization. Speaking on Monday to Jay King of The Athletic, Watson confirmed that he was high on Tatum during the pre-draft process.

As Watson tells it, he wanted Tatum badly enough that he had some “uncomfortable” conversations with team owner Robert Sarver, who preferred Josh Jackson. Watson tells King that he tried to get the Suns to do whatever it took to get in position to land Tatum.

“I was pushing Tatum,” Watson said. “Like, we had to move up for Tatum, we had to get Tatum. And ownership chose Josh Jackson. … I knew the two players were dynamically different, but my vision was what’s the best fit for Devin Booker. Booker and Tatum, I think a combination like that right now would have been completely different than anything in the NBA at that age.”

Although Watson’s story is compelling, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 pushes back against the former head coach’s recollections of the 2017 draft. According to Gambadoro (via Twitter), the Suns had Tatum ranked ahead of Jackson on their board and would have drafted Tatum if they’d had the opportunity to do so.

As Gambadoro explains (via Twitter), since the Celtics initially controlled the No. 1 pick and had Tatum atop their board, the Suns had no avenue to move up to select the young forward. Presumably, when Boston swung a deal to move down to No. 3, the C’s had assurances that the Sixers and Lakers wouldn’t be trading out of the top two spots, which would have been Phoenix’s only path to Tatum.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

Teams around the NBA are reopening their practice facilities for individual voluntary workouts, but that won’t happen anytime soon for the Warriors, who are tentatively aiming for June 1, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. As Slater observes, the last-place Dubs won’t have the same urgency to return to their building as some other California teams might, so they’re “waiting for the (government) order, not influencing it.”
After Klay Thompson recently cautioned against assuming the Warriors‘ dynasty is over, fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry conveyed a similar sentiment in an interview with Jermaine O’Neal (video link via Chris Montano). “It’s going to look different. It’s going to have a new cast of characters that are going to contribute at a high level,” Curry said. “But the DNA and the chemistry that us three (Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green) have, we’re going to be in good shape coming out of this.”
Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee takes a look at the financial toll that COVID-19 is taking on the Kings, who are preparing for the possibility of “tens of millions of dollars in uninsured losses.”

Hiatus Notes: NBPA, Playoffs, Warriors, Fans

May 12th, 2020 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The National Basketball Players Association has begun to poll its members on whether or not they want to resume the 2019/20 season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Woj explains, the NBPA’s regional representatives are among the union officials asking players a “yes or no” question about their desire to return to play amid the coronavirus pandemic. The union has assured players that their individual responses will be kept confidential.

While it may seem like a given that players on contending teams will want to resume the season, there’s certainly no guarantee that players on all 30 clubs feel the same way. Even among players who have a chance to win a title in ’19/20, there could be differences of opinion based on potential safety and health concerns.

With Major League Baseball working on its own plan for a potential return to play, pitcher Sean Doolittle published a Twitter thread on Monday outlining concerns that he and other players would have as they consider suiting up for the season. Doolittle’s thread goes more in-depth and lays out more specific concerns than those we’ve heard publicly from basketball players, but I’d imagine there are many around the NBA who share some of his reservations.

For what it’s worth, the NBPA said in a statement to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the union “is not engaging in and has not authorized any formal poll of its players.” As such, it sounds like the outreach being described by Wojnarowski is informal.

Here’s more on the coronavirus situation and its impact on the NBA:

A source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that one scenario the NBA has discussed as it explores the resumption of the 2019/20 season would see the eighth seed in each conference up for grabs, with the current eighth through 12th seeds participating in a play-in tournament. As Berman explains, it would provide an incentive for a handful of teams who are currently out of the postseason picture, while not requiring the clubs at the very bottom of the standings to return and participate. Of course, it’s just one of many ideas the league has explored.
The Warriors still don’t expect they’ll be one of the teams playing games if and when the NBA resumes its season, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t want to be involved, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. According to Slater, one Warriors coach suggested that playing a handful of regular season games in the summer could essentially function as a “replacement summer league” for Golden State.
The NBA and NBPA are forming a “working group” and will have a call on Tuesday to discuss potential return-to-play scenarios, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania tweets that Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Lowry, and Dwight Powell will be among the players on the call.
In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Bill Shea explores how the pandemic will impact the way fans attend sporting events, once they’re allowed to reenter arenas and stadiums.

Jayson Tatum Initially Hoped To Be Drafted By Suns In 2017

May 11th, 2020 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has taken steps toward superstardom during his three years in Boston, enjoying a breakout season and becoming an All-NBA candidate in 2019/20. However, appearing on All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson (video link), Tatum admitted that in the days leading up to the 2017 draft, he was hoping he’d end up with the Suns rather than the Celtics.

As Tatum explains, with Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball widely expected to go first and second overall, he thought there was a chance he’d go to Philadelphia at No. 3 or Phoenix at No. 4. Just five days before the draft, he visited Phoenix and became smitten with the Suns, who were talking about the idea of pairing him with Devin Booker.

“I called my mom like, ‘I think I want to go to Phoenix,'” Tatum told Barnes and Jackson.

However, the landscape at the top of the draft shifted when the Celtics and Sixers reached an agreement on a trade that would send the No. 1 pick to Philadelphia and the No. 3 pick to Boston. According to Tatum, he got word of that deal shortly after his meeting with the Suns, when he was still in Phoenix.

“My agent calls me, he’s like, ‘Danny Ainge called and said they’re going to trade their pick. They’re going to go to No. 3 and they want you to come to Boston the next day to work out,'” Tatum said. “I’m like, ‘No, I don’t want to go to Boston. I like it out here in Phoenix. It’s cool. The weather’s nice, I’ll get a big house, I’ll get a pool. My mom’s going to be out here.'”

According to Tatum, his agent talked up Boston head coach Brad Stevens and the Celtics’ storied history on that phone call and asked him to think about visiting the team. However, by the end of their conversation, Tatum still wasn’t sold.

“We hang up and I’m like, ‘I’m not going to this workout. I’m cool,'” Tatum said.

As Tatum tells it, it took a call from Mike Krzyzewski, his former head coach at Duke, to convince him to work out for the Celtics. Coach K told the young forward that he could learn a lot from Stevens and that he could succeed in Boston, prompting Tatum to visit the C’s just three days before the draft.

While the former Blue Devil still wasn’t convinced at the time that Phoenix wasn’t a better fit for him, he admits that everything ultimately worked out for the best after Boston selected him with the third overall pick.

“There was a part of me that didn’t really want to go to Boston because they just were the No. 1 team in the East,” Tatum told Barnes and Jackson. “They had Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford, (Marcus) Smart, JB (Jaylen Brown), Jae Crowder. I was like, ‘Man, I’m not going to play.’ … But everything worked out. It was the best decision.”

Celtics Notes: Walker, Tatum, Playoff Seeding

March 21st, 2020 at 5:19pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics may get a hidden benefit from the league-wide shutdown because it gives Kemba Walker more time to recover from his left knee issue, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Walker played in the last three games before the hiatus, but was limited to about 30-32 minutes per night. He had missed six of the previous seven games due to persistent knee soreness.

Bulpett talked to president of basketball operations Danny Ainge about the importance of having Walker fully healthy for the rest of the season.

“I think managing all of our players is important, but, yeah, managing Kemba is very important because Kemba has the ability, as we saw in November and December, to be very, very special,” Ainge said. “And he was doing a lot of the same things that we see Jayson (Tatum) doing now. It’s important that we have those guys playing their best to give us the best chance in the playoffs.”

Ainge admits the “wear and tear” of playing for Team USA during the World Cup last summer may be having an effect on Walker, but he doesn’t believe the organization should have handled the situation any differently.

Ainge addresses a few other topics in the interview:

Without mentioning Kyrie Irving by name, Ainge acknowledges that the switch from Irving to Walker has been good for team morale. The reports of locker room turmoil that surfaced frequently last season have virtually disappeared. “I think that all of the guys’ attitudes this year have been pleasant, great, and there’s been more on the same page,” he said. “Last year, we just had more mouths to feed, and it just didn’t work. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. And this year we have less mouths to feed, so to speak, and it’s been better. But it would be nice to have everybody healthy, because I think we’re going to need everybody in order to reach where we want to be.”
Ainge is optimistic about the young core the team has in place, led by Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart. “I think (Tatum’s) getting a lot of opportunities, a lot of chances,” Ainge said of the third-year forward, who is coming off his first All-Star appearance. “He’s been playing really well. I don’t want to jinx any of that. I’m excited about his development and Jaylen’s development and Marcus’. I think that they’re all getting better right before our eyes.”
The second seed in the East may be out of reach if the NBA only plays a few games before the playoffs begin, but Ainge doesn’t believe seeding is the most important factor heading into the postseason. “It’s something that we would like, of course, but it’s not more important than being healthy,” he said. “And it never is. Listen, I think home court is important in the playoffs. I don’t think it’s an end all-be all, but I do think it’s important.”

Atlantic Notes: Kemba, Knicks, Thybulle, Tatum

March 3rd, 2020 at 5:07pm CST by Luke Adams

Kemba Walker will return to action on Tuesday night for the Celtics as they host the Nets, head coach Brad Stevens confirmed today (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN). Walker, who has missed Boston’s five games since the All-Star break due to a nagging knee injury, will play approximately 20-25 minutes, according to Stevens.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

New Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose made a good first impression in his initial meeting with players on Monday, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Rose also met with Mike Miller and his coaching staff, and while the new head of basketball ops could end up replacing many of those coaches in the spring, Miller wasn’t fazed by the situation. “I don’t need any assurances from anyone as we go through this,” he said. “I trust the process, I trust what we’re doing. I’m perfectly fine working the way we’re doing day to day.”
Sixers rookie Matisse Thybulle has expressed interest in representing Australia in the 2020 Olympics, per The Australian Associated Press (link via ESPN). Thybulle, who said his Australian passport is up to date, will make a decision after the season. If he does suit up for the Boomers, he could be playing alongside 76ers teammate Ben Simmons for head coach Brett Brown.
Within an article on Jayson Tatum‘s ascension to stardom, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer revisits the Celtics‘ decision to move down from No. 1 to No. 3 in the 2017 draft. According to O’Connor, before zeroing in on Tatum, Boston was exploring acquiring extra assets in a trade down from No. 1 in the hopes of flipping them for Paul George, who was ultimately sent to Oklahoma City instead.

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Walker, Garnett, Sullinger

February 16th, 2020 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker have been teammates since Walker signed with the Celtics last summer, including their time together with USA Basketball for the FIBA World Cup, but they will be on opposite sides in tonight’s All-Star Game, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Tatum was drafted by Team LeBron while Walker went to Team Giannis, and they can’t wait to face each other on the court.

“Playing against Kemba’s going to be fun,” Tatum said. “Hopefully we get matched up once or twice so I can take him to the post. I’m going to go right at him, so that should be fun.”

“I’m going to hit him with his own move,” Walker responded. “I already got it down pat. I’m going to hit him with a step-back to the right or left, which he usually does. I’m going to get him. He’s been talking some trash, I seen. Said he’s going at me.”

There’s more Celtics news to pass along:

Tatum failed to defend his title in Saturday’s Skills Competition, being eliminated in the first round by the Pacers‘ Domantas Sabonis, notes Marc D’Amico of NBA.com. Tatum blamed the defeat on a lack of practice time. “I didn’t get no practice in before. I shoulda practiced,” he said. “They let you practice like 30 minutes before they open the doors or something. I got busy taking pictures and other stuff.”
Kevin Garnett expressed thanks on Saturday for the Celtics’ decision to retire his number and took a swipe at the Timberwolves, who still haven’t made that decision, relays Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. “Listen, I have some great years in Minny, but when comes to management, it’s not even close,” Garnett said. “Minny, they run their team one way. Boston has a culture of basketball. They run it a whole other way and I respect that.”
Evan Turner believes his former Celtics teammate, Jared Sullinger, is capable of returning to the NBA, Bulpett adds in a separate story. Sullinger, 27, is in his third year of playing in China. “He’s supposed to be entering his prime. I mean, it’s crazy when you play with him and he’s not in the league,” Turner said. “But, I mean, the league it’s not easy, but sometimes it’s little stuff. It’s right fit. It’s timing. You know, you went from signing with Toronto, broke his foot, was rehabbing and they trade him off to an organization that was kind of like rebuilding (Phoenix, which waived him a day later), just trying to get rid of stuff, and that’s how he ended up lost in the shuffle. So unfortunately that’s what happens every now and then.”

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Buyout Market, Hayward, KG

February 14th, 2020 at 12:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Prior to Thursday night’s game against the Celtics, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers raved about Jayson Tatum, suggesting that the young forward is already “one of the better players in the league,” adding that it will be “amazing” to see where he ends up after a few more years of development, per Darren Hartewell of NBC Sports Boston.

Although Rivers joked before the game that he didn’t need to see “any more growth” out of Tatum on Thursday, the 21-year-old gave the Clippers fits, turning in arguably the best performance of his career in a double-overtime win. He went off for a game-high 39 points on 14-of-23 shooting and made a handful of plays on both ends of the floor that helped clinch the win.

“He was incredible,” Kemba Walker said of his All-Star teammate, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “He made every right play. He made every big shot. He was the best player on the court tonight.”

Tatum won’t be among the starters in Sunday’s All-Star game like Walker will, but the former No. 3 overall pick has emerged as the Celtics’ best all-around player this season, Forsberg argues. Tatum’s ascent is well-timed, as he’ll be extension-eligible for the first time during the 2020 offseason. Barring a major slump or injury in the second half, it’s hard to see how his next contract won’t be worth the maximum salary.

Here’s more out of Boston:

Appearing this week on radio show Toucher & Rich, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said there’s nothing on the buyout market that interests the team for the time being, per Forsberg (Twitter link). That includes free agent point guard Isaiah Thomas — Ainge praised the former Celtic, but suggested the fit may not be right with Boston’s current roster, as Forsberg relays.
Whether or not Gordon Hayward picks up his 2020/21 player option this spring, the Celtics are “very interested” in retaining the veteran forward long-term, a league source confirmed to Brian Robb of Boston Sports Journal. Hayward isn’t necessarily a lock to exercise his $34MM option, since he could command a larger overall payday on a longer-term contract.
The Celtics announced on Thursday that they intend to retire Kevin Garnett‘s No. 5 jersey at some point next season, as Taylor Snow details at Celtics.com.

USA Basketball Announces 44 Finalists For 2020 Olympic Roster

February 10th, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has formally announced a preliminary group of 44 players who are candidates to be part of the program’s roster for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The final roster will only consist of 12 players, so most of these finalists won’t actually play for Team USA at the Olympics. Some will likely withdraw from consideration, while others simply won’t make the final cut. However, these players have all expressed interest in being involved in the process.

“This is the first step in USA Basketball identifying the 12 players who will represent the United States as members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team in Tokyo,” said USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo.

“… Over the course of the remainder of the NBA season we’ll continue to monitor all of the athletes. Selecting the 12-man USA roster will obviously be an extremely challenging and difficult process, and we will again attempt to select the very best team possible to represent our country and who we hope will be successful in our difficult mission of repeating as Olympic champions for a fourth consecutive Olympics.”

Although the U.S. men’s team has won three consecutive Olympic gold medals, the program had a disappointing showing at last year’s World Cup, finishing in seventh place. Team USA will be looking for a bounce-back performance in Tokyo this summer, with many players from that World Cup squad among the 44 finalists announced today.

Here’s the full list of players who are candidates to play for Team USA at the 2020 Olympics:

Bam Adebayo (Heat)
LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs)
Harrison Barnes (Kings)
Bradley Beal (Wizards)
Devin Booker (Suns)
Malcolm Brogdon (Pacers)
Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
Jimmy Butler (Heat)
Mike Conley (Jazz)
Stephen Curry (Warriors)
Anthony Davis (Lakers)
DeMar DeRozan (Spurs)
Andre Drummond (Cavaliers)
Kevin Durant (Nets)
Paul George (Clippers)
Draymond Green (Warriors)
James Harden (Rockets)
Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
Joe Harris (Nets)
Tobias Harris (76ers)
Gordon Hayward (Celtics)
Dwight Howard (Lakers)
Brandon Ingram (Pelicans)
Kyrie Irving (Nets)
LeBron James (Lakers)
Kyle Kuzma (Lakers)
Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
Damian Lillard (Blazers)
Brook Lopez (Bucks)
Kevin Love (Cavaliers)
Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
JaVale McGee (Lakers)
Khris Middleton (Bucks)
Donovan Mitchell (Jazz)
Victor Oladipo (Pacers)
Chris Paul (Thunder)
Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
Marcus Smart (Celtics)
Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Klay Thompson (Warriors)
Myles Turner (Pacers)
Kemba Walker (Celtics)
Russell Westbrook (Rockets)
Derrick White (Spurs)