Getty Ja Morant #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies warms up before the game against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center.
Someone really needs to change Gary Tanguay’s Twitter password. That’s right, the notorious WEEI radio host is at it again with his wild takes. This time he’s calling for the Celtics to swing a blockbuster deal for Ja Morant — a proposal that, on the surface, doesn’t sound all too bad for the Cs.
A budding superstar at just 21 years old, Morant would solidify the team’s point guard position for years to come. However, here’s where things get iffy, if not outlandish. In order to pry Morant away from Memphis, he’s called on the Celtics to move on from two-time All-Star and 23-year-old phenom, Jayson Tatum.
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Tanguay Has Been Vocal Against Tatum
It’s an odd hill to die on, but Tanguay has taken a strong stance against Tatum’s longevity in Boston. Following a highly disappointing loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in early April, Tanguay fired off a bevy of tweets declaring his eagerness to see Tatum skip town before his player option arises.
“Tatum’s player option is in 2025. This means in two years he forces his way out town – that’s the NBA,” the radio host tweeted. “He can take a hike as far as I am concerned.”
Tanguay also added “it is obvious that Tatum does not want to be here,” after the Celtics star struggled, shooting just 7-of-17 from the field and knocking down just 30.0% of his 3-point attempts on the night.
It’s worth noting that Tanguay was far from the only personality critical of Tatum following this specific performance. Former Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins also zeroed in on the Duke product after the game.
“Jayson Tatum, you got paid the big bucks! You have the body language and energy level of an underpaid player and it’s hurtin the team,” Perkins tweeted. “Time to step up and live up to your role, straight up. Carry on…”
Clearly, Tatum took note. Just two games later he dropped 53 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He later went on to add three more 50-plus point outings before the season’s end, including a career-high 60 points against the San Antonio Spurs in May.
We’d like to drive home the point that this is not meant to serve as a disservice towards Morant, who is coming off arguably the greatest playoff series performance in Grizzlies history. The former No. 2 overall selection averaged 30.2 points, 8.2 assists per game and a 48.7% field goal percentage against the Utah Jazz, the latter of which is the highest ever by a Grizzlies player in a single playoff appearance (per StatMuse). Yet, the fact of the matter is, Tatum is the Celtics’ best player and a league MVP in waiting. The Cs may have their fair share of question marks heading into 2022-23, there’s no denying that. However, moving off of Tatum would in no way serve as a positive for the team.
Twitter Reacts to Tanguay’s Proposal
If it was a reaction he was searching for, then Tanguay certainly did his job. As you could likely expect, his outlandish proposal led to a fair amount of pushback and criticism from fans left flabbergasted at his take.
Below are some of the better responses that Twitter users mustered up:
@Gary_Tanguay You really have no idea how rare it is for a guy to make two conference finals before age 23? To average 25/10/5 against elite defenses AND defend with Kemba as his third best player?
@Gary_Tanguay You saw Morant play for the first time last night.
@Gary_Tanguay Talk about prisoner of the moment.
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Wild Celtics-Ja Morant Trade Proposal Sets Twitter Ablaze