What He Just Said Has MASSIVE Implications...

What he just said will make Celtics fans believe again, folks, as a new quote from Mike Conley has a little bit of high praise for Jason Tatum, the guy who we have been talking about a lot recently on this channel, the man who is going to be leading this team into the fire this year, especially now that Jalen Brown has gone. Jason Tatum is going to be the man with the highest usage percentage on this Boston Celtics roster. He is also the leader, the guy who's supposed to be the glue, hold this thing together. It's really interesting, folks. But what did Mike Conley say? What does it mean coming from Mike Conley, who was in year 20 of his NBA career, a guy who has been around, seen everything, been with plenty of other players that are leaders. Folks, we're going to break it all down here today on Celtics Digest, where I am your host, Kellen Frangione. It's a pleasure to be back talking about Celtics basketball. As always, we are getting closer and closer and closer to real NBA basketball. As of right now, it is Friday, October 2nd. The season starts on October 20th, 18 days away. Preseason will be coming soon as well, which we are going to be covering. So folks, make sure you're not missing out. Make sure you are subscribed to Celtics Digest with the notification bell on to get notified every single time we post. We are consistent here on this channel, posting just about daily, covering everything related to the Boston Celtics. So this is the place to be. And we thank you all for being here. But what am I talking about, folks? Well, Mike Conley had the following to say about Jason Tatum. He called everybody saying, let's go work out in LA prior to preseason. He's setting up all kinds of things off the court. He's bringing in huddles after practices and every workout we have, he has something to say, calling guys out and just really taking ownership of the situation. Something you love to see. But folks, before I break down this quote any further and talk more about what Mike Conley has been saying, I want to tell you guys about today's sponsor, Koushi. Folks, on Koushi, you can place yes or no contracts on different outcomes across sports, politics, or even the weather. For example, the Boston Celtics total wins this NBA season. You can go for 45 plus wins, 50 plus wins, or if you're that confident, even 55 plus wins, folks. It is great. And you can do, you can pivot to other things as well. There's all sorts of options, such as the Boston Celtics to be Eastern Conference champions, where a little placement of $25 can pay out nearly $182. But that is only on Koushi, folks. We thank them for sponsoring this video. And please, if you are interested in trying it out, make sure you use the code as it is on screen right here, it will be at the top of the description of this video, as well as in the pinned comments. You get $55 added to your account instantly when you trade your first $25, but that is only on Koushi, only when you use our code digest NBA folks. Once again, thank you to Koushi for sponsoring this video. Make sure to check out the description or pin comment if you are interested. But now back to it, folks. So let's go back to this quote for a second. Mike Conley's got some high praise for Jason Tatum right here on his leadership. Tatum is setting up workouts. He's taken the steps in the off season to build the chemistry with a team that has been a little bit shaken up. Mike Conley is now in the mix. Paul George is now in the mix. Mitchell Robinson is now in the mix. Three guys who have not been in this Celtics organization, not in the franchise. Tatum getting them acclimated to the current teammates, getting them all involved in the scene. It's just something that you love to see, but it didn't stop there because Mike Conley also said the following when he was being asked about Jason Tatum from the outside looking in. I always thought he was one of the best players in the league. Getting to know him now, he's a guy I feel like is really coming into into his own as a leader, a guy that's ready to make a jump. I'm excited for him and his growth. So you'd love to hear that from Mike Conley as well. And just all of these things like Mike Conley is a guy who has been in this league the same amount of time that I have been alive on planet Earth year 20. This means a lot coming from him. And it's, you know, I can explain it further. Conley's a two time NBA teammate of the year, and he holds the record for sportsmanship awards for the league's foremost caretaker of locker room culture. And he's publicly validated multiple young leaders before, such as Anthony Edwards during his time in Minnesota, for instance, and a player like that signing specifically to be a veteran mentor and endorsing Tatum isn't just a nice quote. It functions as a credibility stamp to teammates, media and ownership that Tatum is ready to be the unquestioned alpha of a title contending locker room. And now people have criticized Jason Tatum in the past. I'm not sure how many of you guys remember, but it was back in the 22, 23 season. I forget who exactly said it, but it was an ex NBA player said that Tatum seems like he's a soft leader. He tries to be humble and lead by example, but he's not vocal enough. I've seen a lot of understand them. I think Tatum is kind of a quieter guy, more reserved. He doesn't always try and let his emotions show, but I actually like that. And I think that he is going to be changing his style a little bit. I think he's going to be more vocal. I want him to show a little more passion and just like, you know, so I think that Tatum is going to be doing that this year and keep in mind, folks, as I was saying, Conley's word is significant. As you see it here on the screen, he's also played with a notable amount of players that you would call leaders on the court in his past, from his era with the Grizzlies 2007 to 2019, that core four era, he played with guys like Zach Randolph, a vocal and physical leader, Mark Gasol, a defensive player of the year. And he was also a team veteran and leader for them, Tony Allen, their defensive leader. And then even Rudy Gay, who was their leading scorer during the early years of Conley being there, he was vocal as well. So he's played with all these guys and not to mention now moving on to the Jazz, Rudy Gobert, multiple time defensive player of the year, their defensive leader, Donovan Mitchell, of course, who is now blossoming to a star, is leading that Cleveland team now. And even Joe Ingles, Joe Ingles, not really remembered for his play, but he was a respected locker room voice. He's kind of the old head unc, which now Mike Conley has become. But who else? It doesn't stop there. There's also his time in Minnesota. He played with Rudy Gobert as well. Their cat, who's now on the Knicks, obviously, but he was a franchise cornerstone for them at first. And who he, as we mentioned earlier, he already was giving praise to Julius Randall, the veteran voice before he was eventually traded. So, folks, I mean, Mike Conley has seen some things in this league. It is not nothing that he's making comments like this. Obviously, he's going to talk good about his teammates. He doesn't want to hurt chemistry and say bad things about his new teammates. That would be stupid. But Tatum, when asked about this himself, also said that he is, quote, very comfortable taking on a bigger leadership role. And now I would sure hope that is the case because a lot is on him. A lot is on his shoulders for this upcoming season. The success of this team is really focused on the success of Jason Tatum. But I do think Brad Stevens has done a good job building a more deep team. We still have guys like Derek White, of course, Peyton Pritchard. The addition of Mitchell Robinson is big. Keita, I hope, is going to take another step forward. It's exciting. There's guys to be excited about on this roster. Losing Jalen Brown, yes, it hurts, but I have now kind of moved past it. It hurt a lot at first, the emotional attachment, all of that. But it's exciting. There's things that are going to happen. There's even more on Tatum setting up these offseason workouts. He said that Tatum himself said that with the new guys and the rookies, he was just trying something new. It was the first time we've ever done that since I've been here. Get in the gym in the summertime when we wouldn't normally be around each other and play golf and hang out, build that chemistry. So Tatum, I like that you're taking this approach. And folks, let's remember, let's remember that when Tatum has the highest usage percentage, he can do things like this. I'm sure he is going to have it this upcoming season with the departure of Jalen Brown. Let's remind ourselves what Tatum has done in the past with that. When he had his highest usage percentage in a season in 22-23 at 32.6% in 74 games, about 37 minutes per game, he averaged 30 points near nine rebounds, over four and a half assists, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks on 46% shooting from the field. That is quite good. And if I'm being honest, I think this is the version of Jason Tatum we are going to see this season. I think near 30 points per game. Now we have to keep in mind, he's still coming off a major Achilles injury. But if he is anything like how he was right after he came back for those last like 16 games of the season, was it? I have no doubt that he's going to be fine. Brad Stevens also said, and knocked on wood, he said the team is fully healthy. Tatum has said he's fully healthy. So if he can remain durable, if he can play like 70 games this season, I expect a version of Jason Tatum like this, the driver of the offense doing big things for the Boston Celtics. But folks, let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thank you very much for watching this video. Once again, I am your host with Celtics Digest, Jalen Frangione. It's been a pleasure talking about Jason Tatum, trying to blossom into more of a leadership role. Now that the team has been shaken up, and knowing that he's the number one guy here in Boston, he has to take over. And I'm excited to see what happens. I hope it goes as well as I'm anticipating it to. I still have some high hopes for this Boston Celtics team because there's a standard that is set with this team. They are supposed to compete for championships, no matter what. The East is extremely strong this year, but you never know what can happen, folks. Once again, thanks for watching this video, and I'll see you guys soon.