Brad Stevens TALKS: Jayson Tatum RETURN timeline, Boston Celtics TRADE strategy

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4.7 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 December 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Boston Celtics face major decisions as Jayson Tatum’s return inches closer—will Brad Stevens pull the trigger at the NBA trade deadline or trust the current roster’s growth? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm dissect Stevens’ cautious yet optimistic outlook, debating whether internal improvements from names like Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh are enough, or if a key acquisition is needed to maintain the championship pursuit. Key topics include updates on Tatum’s rehab milestones, the risks of rushing his comeback, and the challenges of executing deals in the new “apron era.” Brad Stevens signals he won’t overpay for missing pieces—think "saffron" trades—suggesting the right fit must come at the right price. Plus, insights on Anfernee Simons, possible trade targets like Ivica Zubac, and how Boston measures up in a packed Eastern Conference race. Are the Celtics poised to go all-in, or will patience prevail?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brad Stevens talks about Jason Tatum's potential return, what he has to do to get back,
0:06.5	and the approach to the trade deadline, will they go for it now or wait?
0:11.9	It's right now on the lockdown Celtics podcast.
0:16.5	Uh-huh.
0:18.0	Yep.
0:19.7	Beintown to be ever ready. It's the seas. Who else can it be? What they do? Uh-huh. Yup. Beem town.
0:38.8	Be ever ready. It's the C's. Who else can it be? What they're going to say now? Screaming like J.T. Corralic. We kept a madness every game, every practice. Crime time, dep and D. White on the sideline. Rain and Jace. How we started. Raised Ben, it's how we finish. Locked on Celtics pod, home of the winners, baby.
0:42.4	There, welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast.
0:45.5	Right here in the Lockdown Podcast Network where it is your team every day.
0:47.1	Your team is the Boston Celtics.
0:49.4	I'm talking about them every Monday through Friday.
0:51.9	Got free bonus podcast for you this week.
0:55.0	They play Friday night, Saturday night, so you'll get bonus content there. This show is free and available everywhere. So subscribe, wherever you get
1:00.2	your podcast. It's the number one Celtics podcast on the number one podcast network. If you're
1:05.0	new to the show, I'm John Corrales, beat writer for Boston Sports Journal. I've been doing a version
1:09.7	of this job for about 20 years. I've been doing a version of this job for about 20 years.
1:11.3	I've been doing this podcast for 10 and I've written a couple of books about this team.
1:15.8	Today show is all about Brad Stevens. He talked to the media on Wednesday and I was there.
1:22.8	I asked him a few questions. We've got, you'll hear everything that Brad had to say on these topics.
1:29.2	So, uh, let's just dive into it. And we're going to dive into it with our guy, Tom Westerholm.
1:36.4	What's up? What's up? How's up? How's going? Pretty good. We're bringing the energy
1:42.9	today. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Who are. Slap, slap, slap, slap. Let's go. All right. That's going to make for an interesting thumbnail. Later on, we're going to talk about the trade deadline. Trade deadline is like two different topics because it's the approach to the trade deadline, which he says some interesting things.
	...

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