Just a few weeks ago, Jayson Tatum stood courtside and said, “I’m ready” after a clutch win over the Miami Heat. The sight of a calm, confident NBA star close to returning from a potentially career-ending injury sparked renewed excitement among Boston Celtics fans. Now, a new report confirms that Tatum is taking a formal, surprising step in his rehab, one that puts him back into a full-team practice setting far sooner than anyone anticipated.

“Celtics forward Jayson Tatum will be assigned to participate in portions of the Maine Celtics practice at the Auerbach Center this afternoon,” according to Boston 25 News.

The G League news comes amid growing hope for the Celtics to make a deeper playoff run in a wide-open Eastern Conference. However, as Tatum has always seemed restless to return in recent months, Celtics GM and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens had a reassuring message for his star player.

“Obviously, any team with Jayson Tatum’s going to be better,” Stevens said on Friday, right before Tatum resumed 5-on-5 work. “If he needs it, I’ll tell him every day. Because every team, all 30 of us, would be way, way better with him on the team.”

However, there will always be caution for any player returning from an injury as serious as a ruptured Achilles tendon. It was originally believed that Tatum would rest the entire season. The team was also quick to tear down the roster, trading the likes of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, and letting Al Horford walk in free agency. Even if he makes a return at any point in the season, it would be unprecedented and perhaps inadvisable by many.

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“It’s best for Jayson to come when he’s 110% healthy, he’s fully cleared by everybody that matters in that decision,” Stevens said.

Irrespective of Tatum’s stature, the timing will matter, and while his return might make the Celtics a title contender, there are still nuances surrounding it that raise doubts.

Jayson Tatum contemplates a return to the Celtics every day

Jayson Tatum is not just an offensive force on any given night. He can also lock down the league’s best player. His defense of Kevin Durant in 2022, when the veteran shot less than 17% from the field, is still fresh in many minds. However, as much as stars matter for a team’s success, chemistry is an absolute necessity.

The Celtics are currently the third seed in the East. They were on a five-game winning streak before the New York Knicks snapped their run. Amid all this, there could be a legitimate question of whether Tatum’s return could be bad for the team right before the playoffs.

“That’s something I contemplate every day,” Tatum also admitted on The Pivot. “They would have played 50-some odd games without me. So they have an identity this year, or things they’ve felt that have clicked for them, and it’s been successful.”

Amid Tatum’s absence, Stevens traded Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic, then unloading Josh Minott, Xavier Tillman, and Chris Boucher to move below the luxury tax threshold. Vucevic, however, has never won a postseason series but is looking forward to entering a championship-winning locker room.

Stevens assured that the swap allowed the team to have some depth at center at the expense of a position where they already had significant depth. Simons’ contributions at guard were sacrificed for the roster’s benefit, and the GM confirmed that Tatum’s injury played no role during the February trade deadline.

Despite a poor start to the season and eventually recovering some of the lost ground, the Celtics appear to be in no hurry to bring Tatum back into the rotation.