After the trade, Xavier Tillman says an injury will postpone his Celtics debut.

Boston — Xavier Tillman, the newest member of the Boston Celtics, was dressed in club gear on Friday morning as the team got ready for their game against the Washington Wizards. But due to his ongoing left knee ailment, the big man won’t be available on Friday night.

On Wednesday, Boston acquired Tillman from the Memphis Grizzlies for Lamar Stevens and two second-round choices. Due to a knee injury, the center hasn’t played for Memphis in the last week, including during Sunday’s loss in Boston.

During his Friday morning introduction to the Boston media at the Auerbach Center, Tillman discussed the injury.

Tillman remarked, “I still have some time to feel better with my left knee and stuff like that.” I therefore lack a chronology. Actually, we’re just getting here, having meetings with the trainers and such. Thus, we will quickly go through it here.

Tillman’s return to the court is probably not in the immediate plans, as there are only four games left before the All-Star Break and the Celtics frontcourt is healthy. The big man has struggled with injuries throughout his Memphis career, and at this point, Boston just needs him as a depth player, especially when Al Horford or Kristaps Porzingis are sidelined for back-to-back games. The head of basketball operations for the Celtics, a player with playoff experience with the Grizzlies, spoke positively.

As always, we’ve enjoyed Xavier,” Stevens remarked. “Clearly large and powerful, he has good lateral foot movement. As a result, he has done a good job of protecting a variety of persons and places. Besides, he enters the game with the proper intentions, am I correct? He passes, competes, and has good game sense. Every single thing that the folks that surround our greatest players have fortunately brought to the table.

He is a skilled player. Thus, we’re happy to have him. We’ve always liked him and felt that he may be useful. We’ll see how all of it materializes. Ultimately, it essentially provides us with a great deal of flexibility. We play many minutes a game with a large roster, even though we start the most of the season with a relatively smaller lineup. Hopefully, this provides us more alternatives to do either.

Tillman is excited to make the switch whenever he’s well enough to return to the court because he’ll be going from one of the NBA’s poorest teams to the greatest team in terms of record.

Tillman remarked, “I’ve always watched the Celtics because of their winning tradition. “I’m always focused on that, especially with KG and everything, and watching these guys go to the Eastern Conference Finals so frequently. Therefore, I think it’s quite amazing that I get to be a member of a winning organization.

Tillman remarked, “I’ve always watched the Celtics because of their winning tradition. “I’m always focused on that, especially with KG and everything, and watching these guys go to the Eastern Conference Finals so frequently. Therefore, I think it’s quite amazing that I get to be a member of a winning organization.