There were even reports over the course of the night that the Celtics were in talks with the Indiana Pacers about acquiring all-star forward Paul George, which would truly be a gamble considering George is entering the past year of his deal and has expressed a desire to play in Los Angeles.
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“I feel that way 100 percent”, Jackson said. “A lot of people refuse to give in to those demands, and that’s why we have these picks and make them”. It wasn’t Kristaps Porzingis.
The Celtics selected the 6-foot-8 Tatum because they badly need a wing player to complement guards Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley. Boston used their third overall pick on Tatum, according to Comcast Sports The six-foot eight-inch nineteen-year-old caught the attention of the Celtics quickly.
Tatum, most likely tired and jet-lagged through a non-stop draft night, still smiled his way through the press conference and said all of the right things.
But Tatum is used to high expectations after a season at Duke, and the opportunity to play under one of the brightest young minds in basketball will be well worth it. More than ever, he’s the heavy favorite to get his wish to play for his hometown team. Boston selected Jaylen Brown with its first round pick in 2016. Already totted as a top talent, Tatum sprained his left foot causing him to miss the first eight games of the season.
“I started to lose faith”, Tatum said during his introductory media session Friday, via the Providence Journal.
The more likely scenario playing out in most mock drafts has the Hornets looking for a shooting guard such as Donovan Mitchell out of Louisville or Duke small forward Luke Kennard, both of whom would add a serious offensive boost for Buzz City in the coming season. There’s a lot to like about Jayson. “He’s got terrific upside as a player”.
Ainge continued into the night attempting to land even bigger targets, including Paul George of Indiana.
Should the Celtics decide to deal the pick, no shortage of franchises interested in Jackson would make offers.
As Ainge will admit, Tatum is not almost a finished product.
Cole said Sunday she had some early signs that her son was the player that Ainge wanted in the draft, but with so much talk of trade, she wasn’t completely sure what would happen. Entering Thursday, Ainge had made eight draft night trades in the previous 12 drafts.
Although Tatum will be the latest addition to the Duke family in the National Basketball Association, the freshman credited the people around him Thursday night with getting him to this point. Reportedly, Tatum greatly impressed the organization with his final workout for the Celtics and Danny Ainge made it known that he would have taken Tatum at number one if they kept the pick.
It’s a matter of preference, and Jackson clearly preferred not to play for Boston.
But it was far from the first time Ainge has received an outrageous demand for his assets from the Nets deal, including a Chicago demand a year ago for the 2017 and 2018 Nets picks in addition to two players for Butler.
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When the C’s secured the No. 1 pick in the lottery in May, we were told that Ainge “controlled the draft”, “controlled free agency”, and “controlled the trade market”.
