Brad Stevens blasts unflattering report about Jayson Tatum

Brad Stevens’ initials are B.S., and he smells exactly that with a recent report about Jayson Tatum.

The Boston Celtics president Stevens reacted Thursday to an ESPN report that quoted an anonymous Eastern Conference assistant coach.

“I don’t think he cares about winning now, and if he does, it is on his terms,” said this assistant about Tatum. “He doesn’t want to score 15 and win. He wants to score 39 and win.”

“If you can’t put your name on it, don’t say it,” Stevens said in response on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich.” “There is no way that assistant would put his name on that quote because, first of all, he has never been around Jayson. Secondly, Jayson would kill him every time he played him for the rest of his career. That’s the way those guys in this league are wired.

“I take it with such a grain of salt,” he added. “To me that line was a joke because I’m around him every day. You look at him, he plays, he’s available, he competes, he’s got a lot on his plate. He’s done a lot more in his first five years in the league than most of the league, right? Totally, totally wrong in that guy’s assessment. I thought that quote was absolutely ridiculous, to be honest. I don’t ever react to that stuff and I actually sent a note to one of the people I work with like, ‘This is idiotic.’ Just be around this guy every day. That guy loves to win. He’s sitting there with his feet in the ice bucket after every game that we lose and he looks despondent. This guy’s competitive. I know that for a fact. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

It was definitely an odd thing to come at Tatum for. In almost every year he has been in the league, Tatum has helped lead Boston to deep playoff runs. That includes 2018 when he went toe-to-toe with LeBron James in a hard-fought seven-game Eastern Conference Finals when he was just a rookie.

Granted, there are legitimate criticisms about Tatum’s style of play, include some that have even come from within. But criticisms over play style are very different from criticisms over mentality, and Stevens thinks this particular one was out of line.

Photo: Jan 4, 2020; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during warm ups prior to the against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports