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When it comes to Jayson Tatum’s Olympic quest this summer, priority No. 1 is undoubtedly helping claim Gold for Team USA. But recruiting a fellow star or two to potentially join forces with him in Boston likely isn’t too far down on the totem pole.
Rumors of Tatum donning his recruiting cap began to swirl as the Celtics star helped nudge Damian Lillard to commit to the Olympic team. Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix further fueled recruiting speculations during a June 28 interview on “The Colin Cowherd Podcast,” claiming that a conversation between Tatum and close friend Bradley Beal about possibly joining forces is “going to take place” while the two are playing together in Tokyo.
Now, thanks to an innocuous photo shared by NBA Central, fans on Twitter believe we can now add yet another member of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team to the list of potential players Tatum could attempt to woo this offseason.
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Fans Call for Bam Adebayo to Join Celtics
A one-time All-Star and two-time NBA All-Defensive second-teamer, Bam Adebayo has already established himself as one of the league’s premier big men. Yet as the second-youngest member of Team USA (behind only Tatum), the 23-year-old likely still has loads of untapped potential — which many would seemingly prefer to see come to fruition as a member of the Celtics.
The photo is likely nothing more than two fellow NBA stars and Olympic teammates putting in work together at the gym. However, don’t tell Twitter that, as fans have already run with the Adebayo to Boston narrative. Social media has been set ablaze with speculation; here’s a look at a few of the more notable takes:
One fan shared a jersey swap of Adebayo donning a No. 13 Celtics jersey. Spoiler alert, he pulls it off a tad bit better than Tristan Thompson.
Another user likened Adebayo as the Pau Gasol to Tatum’s Kobe Bryant.
Here are a few other tweets of fans excited at the idea of Bam making his way to Beantown.
Of course, trade speculation can go both ways. Warning: Celtics fans may want to close their eyes for this one.
Celtics Gearing up for Busy Offseason
While the idea of one — the Heat moving off of Adebayo, and two — the Celtics luring him to Boston, appears farfetched at the moment, that’s not to say Brad Stevens won’t be hard at work this summer reshaping the C’s roster.
The team’s new president of basketball operations recently told reporters that “the goal is to get in the mix” and that in order to do so, “we have to get better.” In other words, the Kemba Walker trade is looking like the first in a bevy of moves this offseason.
By the sound of it, co-owner Wyc Grousbeck would seemingly agree.
“There’s a lot we have to go do,” Grousbeck said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz.” “There’s a lot of potential trades I would imagine, just reading the wires and thinking a little bit and talking a little bit to Brad. There’s a lot of stuff that could happen this summer.”
“I don’t really know what the roster is going to look like in August, and it’s going to be a very busy July,” he added. “But we’re not hard-capped or anything like that, but we’re going to have to be clever.”
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