Just ahead of the team’s trip to Lake Buena Vista, Florida to make their way to Disney’s NBA campus for the resumption of the coronavirus-suspended 2019-20 season, the Boston Celtics held yet another day of media availability as players held mandatory individual workouts.
The workouts, held in Auerbach Center, the team’s Waltham, Massachusetts practice center, are being held to prepare players like All-Star forward Jayson Tatum for the rigors of the restart, with the hope that ramping up training gradually will help keep players from soft tissue injury.
And for Tatum, while injury is undoubtedly a concern with a high-value rookie extension coming in the offseason, it was never a significant factor in his decision on whether to play in the restart or not, according to The Athletic’s Jared Weiss.
Tatum was concerned about reports saying he would consider not playing to protect his financial future making people think that if he didn't play, that was the reason why. He says he considered not playing because of his family, but not because of the financial aspect. https://t.co/szml7WCOLt
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) July 7, 2020
In fact, neither financial risk nor the insurance purchased by the league were major concerns for the Duke product — family was. “I never talked to anybody about that or said I was or wasn’t going to play because of my contract,” he explained via Boston.com.
“It’s not going to be easy,” said Tatum of the prospect of being away from his son Deuce for the duration of the team’s stay in the bubble, which could go well into October (via the team). “I’ve never been away from him for more than two and a half weeks.”
The St. Louis native related he thought it would be insensitive to sit out for financial reasons at a moment when so many are struggling to make ends meet due to the pandemic.
Jayson Tatum: “That's one thing I am excited about: Just seeing everybody again. Guys got new haircuts, guys look different … Knowing we’re going to be able to go out there and compete again. That makes it worth it."
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) July 7, 2020
While admittedly reserved about whether to play until a few days ago, Tatum is looking forward to reconnecting with his peers.
“That’s one thing I am excited about,” he explained via NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.
“Just seeing everybody again. Guys got new haircuts, guys look different … Knowing we’re going to be able to go out there and compete again. That makes it worth it,” he added. “I missed those guys and it’s a good group to be around.”
And this won’t be just going through the motions — at least for the Celtics — according to the former Blue Devil.
Celtics roundtable: How far can Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum take Boston? https://t.co/Y3DljOHD6k via @thecelticswire
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 29, 2020
“If we’re going to go down there, we might as well try to win a championship. That’s our goal and our focus. We’re going down there and trying to win,” he shared via the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn.
With more than a few teams seeing important players opting out or injured, Boston’s chances of hanging a banner at the end of it all have probably improved a shade given their relative health and full participation.
But, like everyone else, they’ll need to actually get to Florida and through all he hurdles still remaining — fingers crossed this risky venture goes off without a hitch.
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