As Duke fans know, former Blue Devil Jayson Tatum’s post-season came to a screeching halt when he tore his right Achilles in Game 4 against the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past spring. Obviously he’s rehabbing now and early reports are encouraging, but it’ll take a while before anyone really knows how strong his return will be, or how soon he can get back.
Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of uncertainty about his condition and what Boston’s plans are. They have to plan for now and for when he’s actually back and his absence means that Boston’s championship window has slammed shut.
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For now, it looks like Boston is planning on his eventual return and they’ve adjusted for what will likely be a difficult season this year. They’ve parted ways with Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet, Jrue Holiday, Georges Niang, JD Davidson and possibly Al Horford.
Whatever happens with Tatum, GM Brad Stevens is a pretty savvy guy and he’s no doubt got some slick plans. He might be angling for a Top Four pick, which would probably mean either AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Mikel Brown or Cameron Boozer. That would probably involve a major trade but given Stevens’ history, we could see him pulling it off. But would that mean trading Tatum?
Not while he’s still rehabbing and he’d be a risky bet for another team. However, we could imagine Boston moving Brown and his immense contract to try to crack the Top Four. Assuming that Tatum makes a solid recovery, imagine pairing him with Boozer, Dybantsa or Peterson. Then imagine how much cap space trading Brown would free up.
It seems like an obvious path forward.