Wild superstar update may give Jazz one less tanking competitor this season

The Utah Jazz will be among the worst teams in the NBA. While fans won't see a repeat of the depressing show they put up last year, Utah will still be very bad. They won't be the only team competing for a top pick in the upcoming draft class, but it appears they may have one less team to worry about in the tanking competition: the Boston Celtics.

While it's already ambiguous as to whether the Celtics were planning to tank, Jayson Tatum has recently gone on a media tour, making it clear that he has not ruled out a return this coming season.

For context, Tatum tore his Achilles during the Celtics' playoff series against the New York Knicks back in May. Achilles injuries have more often than not been a death sentence for stars like him, but players like Kevin Durant have successfully reacquired their abilities in full after he tore his in 2019.

Tatum was younger than Durant was when he tore his Achilles tendon, and he tore his at an earlier time than Durant did. The latter waited a year and a half to come back from it, so while many would understandably tell Tatum to do the same, he has made it clear that if there's a sliver of hope he can come back, he will gladly take it.

Doctors have come out and said it's possible his return may be earlier than many would have ever dreamed.

If Tatum returns, the Jazz don't have to worry about the Celtics

Again, it's not clear whether Boston truly intended to tank this season to begin with, but Tatum's absence definitely put their season in limbo, regardless of how weak the Eastern Conference is. If he comes back before the calendar year is over, that's one less team Utah would potentially have to worry about.

The Jazz won't see much competition from the Western Conference in the tanking game (is anyone in the West not fighting for the playoffs besides them?), but the Eastern Conference has plenty of teams that either definitely will tank or have the potential to do so. Boston definitely fits the latter.

Tatum would not come back unless he knew for certain that he is 100% and that doing so wouldn't lead to further injuries (which commonly happen in players who tear their Achilles). It seemed like a pipe dream that he would even consider it - Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton have made it clear they are not taking their chances after suffering the same fate around the same time - but Tatum wouldn't go something like this unless he was confident returning was in play for him.

If he does, Utah can sleep better at night knowing Boston shouldn't be a problem for their tank. The Jazz already did the Celtics a favor when they took Georges Niang off Boston's payroll. The Celtics can return the favor in kind by taking themselves out of the tanking race with Tatum's return.