Jayson Tatum‘s recovery from a torn Achilles tendon suffered in May took a big step Monday with the Boston Celtics assigning him to practice with their G League affiliate.
In a statement, the Celtics said Tatum would participate in portions of the practice at the Auerbach Center in Boston along with teammates Hugo Gonzalez and Amari Williams, who also were assigned to the Maine G League team.
After the session, Tatum will be recalled by the Celtics and continue his rehab.
The team did not offer any additional details on a potential timetable for Tatum to return.
Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks last May. The Celtics have thrived despite his absence, going 34-19, good for third place in the East, behind All-Star Jaylen Brown.
Asked last week about returning, Tatum wondered aloud whether he might upset the team’s chemistry if he did.
“That’s something I contemplate every day,” he said on “The Pivot” podcast. “They would have played 50-some odd games without me. So they have an identity this year, or things they’ve felt that have clicked for them, and it’s been successful.
“So there’s a thought in my head that is, like: ‘How does that work? How does that look with me integrating myself off an injury.’ And it is a thought, like, ‘Damn, do I come back, or should I wait?'”
But Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, in the wake of a trade deadline that saw the team acquire Nikola Vucevic, assured Tatum that the team is better with him on board.
“Obviously, any team with Jayson Tatum’s going to be better,” Stevens said Friday. “If he needs it, I’ll tell him every day. Because every team — all 30 of us — would be way, way better with him on the team.”
