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May 12, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) dribbles up court in front of New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) in the second half during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Who Will Replace Jayson Tatum This Season? Celtics Insider Answers

Originally posted on Boston Celtics on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 11:30 AM ET

What will the Boston Celtics do to replace injured six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum this year? The 6-foot-8 Duke product, 27, tore his Achilles tendon during the playoffs this spring, and seems likely to miss all of 2025-26.

Celtics president Brad Stevens reacted to the news by quickly offloading starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, letting third-string center Luke Kornet walk in free agency, and flipping point guard JD Davison. Free agent power forward/center Al Horford is expected to depart for the Golden State Warriors, although he's technically still on the market.

More news: Celtics' $5.5 Million Addition Named Top Breakout Candidate

Stevens signed free agent big men Chris Boucher and Luka Garza, plus wing Josh Minott, to veteran's minimum deals. He also brought back guard Anfernee Simons in his deal for Holiday. Stevens flipped his return haul for Porzingis, Georges Niang and a future second-round pick, to the Utah Jazz for two-way rookie RJ Luis Jr. and a trade exception.

Incumbent Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are now the only returning starters from last season who'll be available. So how will head coach Joe Mazzulla handle the other three spots?

As Brian Robb of MassLive writes in a recent reader mailbag, Boston essentially has three options for how it wants to handle the position.

It's time to dust off the #Celtics mailbag with training camp quickly approaching this month. Send along any player, roster, trade, lineup or any other questions here or to brobb@masslive.com
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) September 11, 2025

Three Key Power Forward Possibilities

"The power forward starting spot is probably going to be a fascinating indicator of how Joe Mazzulla wants to play this season. The team could go with an all-offense look and start Jaylen Brown/Sam Hauser at the forward spots, leaving the team looking quite vulnerable from a size and rebounding standpoint defensively (but very dynamic on offense)."

Reserve wing Hauser, a 6-foot-8 sharpshooter, may be a bit limited defensively (especially when compared to Tatum) as Robb points out, but he's also an elite marksman from distance. He connected on 41.6 percent of his 5.6 triple tries a night. He's a bit bigger and longer than Brown, but Brown is the superior defender, so if Mazzulla went with this approach, he'd likely toggle the two positionally depending on the matchup.

A second option that Robb submits is a jumbo-sized frontcourt.

"Going double bigs with Chris Boucher and Neemias Queta [formerly the Celtics' fourth-stringer behind Kornet] would be a way to shore up defensive size and rebounding concerns while still having some 3-point range to stretch the floor at power forward with Boucher," Robb writes.

Boucher, a career 33.9 percent shooter from 3-point land, made an encouraging 36.3 percent of his long range takes on 3.9 attempts with the Toronto Raptors last year.

Robb concludes that a third possibility could work itself out in training camp.

"The other wildcard option is a bench wing emerging (Josh Minott?) to add some athleticism and defense to what Mazzulla wants to be an uptempo group."

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Robb believes that the double-big approach will win out, at least to start the year.

"Ultimately, the guess here is Boucher for now but a case can be made for Hauser given his track record and how Mazzulla wants to play offensively," Robb writes. I only think we see a couple of the young guys off the bench to begin the year. I expect Queta to start and Luka Garza to be in the rotation.