I was listening to Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols review of the trade deadline from a week ago. They talked about the Vucevic trade which turned into a discussion on Jayson Tatum's return.
Chris Mannix was talking about Drew Hanlen who was with Zach LaVine when LaVine returned from an ACL injury. LaVine came back too quickly and had a horrible experience. Played terribly. Well, Drew Hanloen is also an advisor to Jayson Tatum and Mannix believes he will be relaying this story to Tatum and warning Tatum not to return unless he feels fully ready. Don't come back at 70% or 80%. Come back when you are ready. Apparently Drew Hanlon was also with Bradley Beal. He is a St Louis guy. And he has been a trusted advisor to Tatum for a long time. So he has some influence.
Mannix also talked about seeing Tatum deadlifting 400lbs. But also says gym work is completely different to doing physical actions in live game action. That mental block after an injury is going to the be question and Mannix believes that is the stage that Tatum is in now in his recovery. Managing those mental blocks. Says Tatum looks great in the gym.
Mannix also said he expects Tatum to return by March 01 or not return at all. He thinks it will be too late in the season for Tatum to come back with 2-3 weeks of action before the playoffs after the type of injury (seriousness of the injury) that Tatum has had. That Tatum will need more game time before the playoffs in order to play at a sufficient level. To recover confidence on the floor. So he thinks this (possible Tatum return) will happen soon (next 2-3 weeks) or not at all.
Some interesting thoughts & insights from Mannix.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJv_4nLLq9MVucevic and Tatum parts are from 28:30 min into the video to the 36:00 min mark.
