Why Chris Haynes believes Tatum will be back this season
A lot has been done Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury and his potential returnwith the initial expectation that he will sit out the entire 2025-26 NBA season. However, recent updates have been more optimistic, with many expecting him to return at some point during the campaign.
Chris Haines is one of them, as he explained how Tatum will likely return to the game during the regular season.
“Based on what he sent me, I think we’ll see him at some point during the regular season. He told me he’s been working out three times a week for 45 minutes. He said he has 23 weeks left from his surgery and he’s feeling good,” he explained on NBA television.
However, does that mean a return during the season is likely? Haynes claimed it was just that Celtics talisman targets.
“He posted videos of him scouting from that leg. So I asked him, ‘Are you really trying to come back this season?’ And basically he’s saying, ‘I’m not putting in all this work for nothing,'” he explained.
In his absence, the Celtics responded with a bit of a fire sale, with Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis being traded to save on the luxury tax and salary. The Celtics are reported to have saved around $300 million due to their offseason moves.
Jalen Brown, Derrick White and Peyton Pritchard will have a heavier scoring and creating load after averaging 22.2, 16.4 and 14.3 points respectively last season. Key additions were Anferni Simmons, Chris Boucher and Luca Garza, with Simmons emerging as the only proven high-volume scorer among them.
Regardless, while Tatum may have a chance to return this season, all signs right now point to the Celtics being in no rush.
2025-10-23 16:07:00
