The Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum talks with former teammate Aron Baynes, currently with the Phoenix ... [+]
It’s difficult to remember now, but there was a time when it was all but certain who the Boston Celtics were going to select in the 2017 draft and it wasn’t going to be Jayson Tatum. Tatum, like most of the basketball world, assumed that the Celtics were going to take Markelle Fultz with the first overall pick. What wasn’t known until earlier this week was that Tatum himself was imagining a different destination. At the time Boston expressed interest in him, Tatum was set on joining the Phoenix Suns.
On Monday’s episode of the “All The Smoke” podcast, Tatum went into the series of events that led him to the Celtics. The Suns, who had the fourth pick in that draft, made such a memorable pitch to the Duke standout that he almost turned down a chance to work out for Boston.
“There was a part of me that didn't really want to go to Boston,” Tatum said, “because they were just the No. 1 team in the East. They had Isaiah Thomas, Al Horford, (Marcus) Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder. I was like I'm not gonna play, I'm trying to get buckets.”
Luckily for the Celtics, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski made a phone call to Tatum raving about head coach Brad Stevens and he changed his mind. A little while later, although GM Danny Ainge has been cagey about when he finally made the decision, the Celtics shocked the NBA world by trading down in the draft. The rest of the league didn’t know it, but he had just gone all-in on the idea of picking Tatum.
It’s really impossible to fully realize how much things would have changed had Tatum turned down the Celtics’ workout, but it’s entirely possible that the Celtics would have reversed course if it was clear that Tatum wasn’t enthused about playing for them. If so, Boston probably holds onto that number one pick and sticks with the safe route of drafting Fultz. Looking at Fultz’s first few years with the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s no reason to believe that things wouldn’t have worked much differently in Boston.
The Suns, meanwhile, picked fourth in the 2017 Draft and, assuming that the Los Angeles Lakers still would have drafted Lonzo Ball and that 76ers picked a different player, they could have grabbed Tatum to pair him with Devin Booker, giving them a potentially dangerous duo. Instead, the Suns snagged Josh Jackson, who they eventually ended up trading to the Memphis Grizzlies. He last played in the G League Memphis Hustle. (It’s also entirely possible that they would have gone with Jackson regardless, despite their overtures to Tatum.)
Meanwhile, things have worked out perfectly for Tatum and the Celtics, as he acknowledged later in the interview. While nothing could be done about the New England weather, Tatum’s fears of not being able to get the touches he needed ended up being mostly unfounded. After drafting Tatum, the Celtics traded Thomas and Crowder to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kyrie Irving. Then, Gordon Hayward was injured in his very first game with the club, freeing up more playing time for the Celtics’ top pick. In the end, Tatum was able to average a little over 30 minutes per game that season. With both Hayward and Irving out for the playoffs, Tatum was called on to step his game. He was up for the challenge and was the most impressive player in the Celtics’ surprisingly competitve seven-game loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Now, it could be said that Tatum’s worries about “too many cooks” partly came true the next season. With Irving and Hayward back on the court, Tatum’s numbers dropped across the board while team chemistry problems turned them into the league’s biggest underachievers. When the Celtics replaced the departing Irving with the rather more selfless Kemba Walker, it ended up being just what Tatum needed to improve his game.
Where are we now? Tatum might already be the Celtics’ best player right now. Meanwhile the Phoenix Suns, despite a hot start this season, were 13th in the Western Conference when the pandemic put the league on hold. It’s likely that the Suns would be better off if they had Tatum playing aside Booker, but it’s hard to picture them as one of the best teams in their conference.
“Everything worked out,” Tatum said during the podcast, “It was the best decision. Everything worked out.” It’s difficult to argue with him.
All that’s left now is for the Celtics to figure out a way to keep Tatum in Boston long-term. Having worked out a rookie contract extension with Jaylen Brown last offseason, the next step is for the Celtics to do everything they can to hold onto a player who could easily be the face of the franchise going forward. For the moment, at least, it certainly sounds like Tatum and the team are on the same page, which is good news all around.
