NBA Insider On How Celtics' Recent Moves Could Lead To A Jayson Tatum Exit

The Boston Celtics are starting a new era with Brad Stevens as their GM. The former coach took over after Danny Ainge left the team, and he's already making moves this offseason. 

The C's are still looking for a new head coach, but they started working on their roster for the next season. Earlier this week, they traded Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City in exchange for Al Horford. They could keep making moves in the next weeks to assemble the best possible team. 

However, depending on their moves, the Celtics could see their best player leave. According to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Jayson Tatum could get tired of seeing his locker room friends go, impacting his future with the franchise. 

The question now is how these moves will impact Boston’s franchise players. Jayson Tatum has already seen close friend Javonte Green move to Chicago at the deadline, and now loses another locker room friend in Walker. Horford’s arrival opens the door for the team to possibly move on from Tristan Thompson, another close teammate for Tatum. 

It remains to be seen how this situation ends. Tatum and Jaylen Brown need help to take this team to compete in the Eastern Conference. That could be a more significant reason for him to ask out of the Celtics than just seeing friends getting traded. 

At the end of the day, this is a business, and JT knows that. This doesn't mean the Celtics don't have work to do. They need to land the right players to make the leap and stop being that team that's good for a 6th-7th seed and nothing else.