If Jayson Tatum's injury concerns are confirmed, the Boston Celtics will not look the same again.
If the greatest fears are confirmed and Jayson Tatum has indeed suffered an Achilles injury, the Boston Celtics may have no other option than to blow up the blueprint this offseason. Even before the injury, as the Celtics found themselves in a battle with the New York Knicks, it was reported that the franchise was going to consider making some cost-cutting moves after the season.
Presumably, assuming that report was accurate, those decisions are going to come a lot easier for the Celtics heading into next season. In fact, I'd argue that the Celtics shouldn't just stop at making a trade or two to save some money. The reality is, if Tatum is going to miss all of next season (which he would if it's a confirmed Achilles injury), it wouldn't make sense for Boston to keep this core intact this summer.
What is the future of the Boston Celtics?
The good news is that even though an Achilles injury is one of the worst injuries a basketball player can suffer, there have been a few success stories of late. At one point, an Achilles injury was considered a career death sentence. Recently, both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson have resumed their careers while playing at a high level after such an injury.
Tatum is younger than both of those players, so there isn't much stopping him from returning to form after rehabbing. But that's more of a long-term perspective. The Celtics have some immediate concerns they must sort out in the meantime.
Down 3-1 to the Knicks, it's almost impossible not to think about what could be awaiting Boston during the offseason. This Tatum injury makes it that much more complicated. Even if the Celtics had gone on to lose to the Knicks with a healthy Tatum, the overwhelming opinion was that Boston would still reemerge next season as a contender in the Eastern Conference. I'm not so sure that's going to be the case anymore.
An MRI will almost certainly confirm the Celtics' fears at some point on Tuesday. With the way things are trending, this catastrophic injury is going to end up being one of those franchise-changing events for the Celtics. At this point, it's hard not to envision how much this injury is not only going to impact the Celtics' history, but also NBA history as a whole.