What did Celtics’ Jayson Tatum have to say about trade rumors
With an obviously bright future ahead, the rising star is demonstrating wisdom beyond his years as he tackles the speculation surround a possible trade.
The Celtics star isn’t interested in the rumor mill, instead he’s staying focused on the task at hand which is building another Boston challenge for the NBA title.
Jayson Tatum isn’t interested in trade rumors
Though his name hasn’t been directly linked with any serious trade talk during the NBA’s offseason so far, many of Jayson Tatum’s teammates have found themselves at the center of the ongoing chatter. Where the team itself is concerned, the Celtics have made it clear that Tatum is a franchise player and as such is not available for trade. That, however, has done little to quiet the talk of moves for other players on the roster. From Jaylen Brown to Marcus Smart, as well as Derrick White and Robert Williams III, there has been no shortage of speculation where the future of those players are concerned. Now a potential move for Kevin Durant being talked up, things have only intensified. Yet, if you ask Tatum, it’s about maintaining focus on what matters. In a recent interview, the Celtics star say that players simply have to learn to “control what they can control.” Indeed, speaking about tuning out the external noise, Tatum opened up about his approach:
“That’s the world we live in, right? It always comes from an anonymous source. But it always makes ESPN or Twitter or whatever, and everybody sees it. So you never know what is true and what’s not true, but it gets people to talk about it, and I guess that’s the idea. They got what they wanted out of the deal, for people to talk about it and make speculations. If you pay attention to everything you see on Twitter or TV, you drive yourself crazy. I think that’s just something that you have to learn just to keep your own sanity and your own peace. They will literally say anything, and some of it might be true, and there are other things that just couldn’t be further from the truth. But, the average fan at home doesn’t know the difference, and they just might believe whatever they see. And it doesn’t help that people on the sports talk shows are talking about it every day and we don’t know who said it, so just control what you can control. That’s what I always live by.”
The unseen troubles with trades in the NBA
True though it may be that trades come with the territory in the NBA, they are no less difficult to manage for players when they occur. Consider for a moment, that once traded - regardless of if it was desired - a player now has to navigate all of the strenuous aspects of moving to a new location. From finding a new house, to schools for kids - if they have - to figuring out where the grocery store is and what they have in stock, it’s normally a very difficult process even if they are well paid. Indeed, while franchises and agents will often assist with the logistics of the process, it’s no less difficult to deal with, especially when it occurs in the middle of a season.
What’s Jayson Tatum’s situation with the Celtics right now?
As mentioned before, Tatum’s immediate future appears to be secure as the Celtics have effectively ruled out the possibility of a trade here and now. With at least three more seasons left on his contract and a fourth as a player option, it’s not likely that Tatum will be going anywhere soon. What’s more, is that as the team’s corner stone player, Tatum actually has some degree of say in what the team does or doesn’t do. Given how close the Celtics came to a title this last season and the fact that they have managed to keep their core together so far, expect them to consolidate rather than construct anew. That being said, with a number of his teammates being linked with possible moves, we can only wait to see what the Celtics roster looks like when training camp tips off in September.