Celtics’ Jayson Tatum Unfazed By East Rivals’ Offseason Moves

While it’s easy to see what other teams are doing around the NBA during the offseason, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum believes that Boston will still be the team to get through.

The Philidelphia 76ers and New York Knicks made some important offseason moves. The Knicks added Mikal Bridges from a trade with the Brooklyn Nets on top of re-signing OG Anunoby.

The 76ers extended Tyrese Maxey and re-signed Kelly Oubre Jr. while also adding former Los Angeles Clipper Paul George. Philadelphia has been a tough team to play in recent years, so the additions will boost the roster even more.

Following those moves, Tatum was asked if the strengthening of the conference makes him pay more attention to who is coming in.

“I see all the changes and people switching teams and obviously teams are getting better and that’s every offseason,” Tatum told the “7PM In Brooklyn With Carmelo Anthony & The Kid Metro” podcast. “You’ve gotta have an appropriate fear or respect for your opponent. You don’t ever want to disrespect who you’re playing. But with that being said, we won. Like, when you win a championship, you get to talk how you want to talk, respectfully. They’ve got to go through us.”

The Celtics, as reigning champions, will be a matchup that every team will have circled on their calendars. Boston will have most of its championship roster returning to the court in the upcoming season, so it will be the team to beat.

Many people have questioned if the Celtics had too easy of a path to get to the Finals, but Tatum believes that none of that matters and has shut down the doubters. Even Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has come to the defense of Boston.