Celtics forward Jayson Tatum went into the offseason thinking he may have needed surgery on his non-shooting wrist, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne said on NBA Today (YouTube link). According to Shelburne, Tatum visited a bunch of specialists and opted against going under the knife.
Shelburne said that Tatum received a cortisone shot in his wrist, adding that the wrist feels “really good.”
Following the trade that sent Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies, Tatum is likely going to be seeing even more primary ball-handling duties. Shelburne reports that Tatum is “comfortable” initiating the offense and handling the ball, with his experience in the postseason helping him build confidence for that role.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Raptors president Masai Ujiri‘s 10-year anniversary as the team’s top decision-maker came and went this offseason and his tenure has been marked by huge successes by the organization, including an NBA title in 2019. However, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes that Ujiri’s record hasn’t been without misses, especially recently. Missing out on Damian Lillard is an example of a questionable decision, Koreen opines, and it leaves the franchise in a tricky situation moving forward. Importantly, Koreen notes that he doesn’t think that Ujiri is in any danger of being close to losing his position. I recommend reading the article in full, as Koreen evaluates and compares Ujiri’s tenure to other top decision-makers in the league.
- While the Sixers didn’t land Lillard, Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports writes that Philadelphia is in a better position with Lillard on the Bucks rather than the Heat, who were heavily linked to the seven-time All-Star. Neubeck reasons that if Miami had landed Lillard, they would be firmly in the top tier of Eastern Conference teams ahead of the Sixers, along with the Bucks and Celtics. With Lillard on the Bucks, it makes Milwaukee better, but the Sixers are only behind two teams in the conference’s hierarchy, opines Neubeck. The deal also opens Philadelphia to make other moves via trade.
- The Knicks have several storylines to watch for this upcoming season after earning the No. 5 seed and reaching the second round in the NBA playoffs in 2022/23. Zach Braziller of the New York Post argues that the biggest storyline surrounding the Knicks is the play of Julius Randle. In Braziller’s view, the Knicks will need Randle to step up in the postseason in order to increase their ceiling for next season and beyond.
Lillard was never going to Philly
Instead we should be looking to get Jrue Holiday
Harden to LA, Holiday to Philly and bits and pieces back to Portland with a pick or two aswell
Holiday would be a great fit with Maxey in the backcourt. Jrue can play on or off the ball, can play PG or SG, he’s an excellent defender, great leader and still gives you about 15-20 points per night consistently. Perfect with Maxey abit of a combo guard aswell, with an excellent offensive game but lacking a little defensively.
Allows Tobias to step up and have a bigger role in the offence too which suits him more I think and ofcourse we have Kelly Oubre who’s a solid offensive threat.
“Bits and pieces” such as? I’m pretty sure that’s the most important part in order for this trade to happen
Take it easy on poor Simmons. Philly hasn’t won anything since 1983. That’s 40 years. Gee…I wonder why? hahaha
“Missing out on Damian Lillard is an example of a questionable decision”
Wow, Ujiri affirmatively made a decision to miss out on Lillard. Maybe he didn’t go all in. But this is a ridiculous criticism. Based on what was reported, about Lillard having special objection to playing there, its not even clear either them or POR was ready to deal over that.
And I’m pretty sure this is the same reporter who was saying they shouldn’t trade for him. What a joke.
I couldn’t agree more. If what’s been reported is true, then Lillard had no intention of ever playing for Toronto, and Ujiri certainly can’t be faulted for that. The most reasonable explanation here is that Koreen is trolling Raptor fans.
Man Kyle Nuebeck really doing the 2k limbo there huh
Nuebeck is always spot on with sixers information and basketball analysis in general. Jrue is a nice fit in Philly but I don’t see it happening. Unfortunately .
The decision to not go for Dame ultimately comes down to not trading the 2022 Rookie of the Year for a 33 year old PG.
If the team was a contender like the DeRozan/Lowry Raptors then sure. But they’re not even a playoff team at their core. All Dame does is bring them back to 50 wins, maybe one Conference Finals, and then 35-45 win teams, basically an expedited version of his POR tenure.
They were on a 50 win pace after acquiring Poeltl. If they added Dame to that existing core, they’d be a top 3 seed. Unlike Milwaukee, TO can much easier hide Dames terrible.defense.
I’m not the biggest Lillard fan, or the biggest fan of Ujiri’s roster construction. Also, although I think Barnes is overrated as a future star, I can certainly understand not wanting to trade him for a 33 year old.
Still, though, I think a starting 5 of Lillard, GTJ, OG, Siakam and Poetl, with a bench led by DS, GD, OP, PA, etc., is a legit contender to come out of the East, and would be for the balance of Lillard’s prime. They’d have to extend the 3 starters on expiring and similar deals, and pay a bunch of luxury tax.
In theory, if Raps acquired Lillard, you know one or more of those core pieces would have to be moved to match salary? There’s no scenario where Toronto could send out just Barnes & picks. Either GTJ, OG or Siakam would have to be in any Dame trade.
And Boucher and Young aren’t enough ballast to add either.
I don’t think matching salaries would be an issue in the offseason (when you can do a 5 for 1 deal without great difficulty). Boucher, Young, OPJ, Flynn + Barnes would likely be sufficient if the only issue is matching contracts.
No scenario where Toronto could send out just Barnes & picks?
So Holiday and only one pick is worth more than Barnes, salary filler AND multiple 1sts?