Jackson vs Tatum - Who should the Celtics Draft?

[Bill Lumbergh]

I would take Tatum. He's going to be a solid starter in the league for years to come. He's probably pretty close to his ceiling though. The good thing is meshes well with the current roster. Jackson or Isaac (not both) will have a better career but I don't think either works with the current roster. I wish we could get into the late 1st round and grab Leaf or move up in the 2nd and grab Cam Oliver.

Thanks for mentioning Oliver aka "Space Cam." I live in Nevada now and have seen a fair share of Wolfpack games the past two years -- Cam Oliver is a STUD and probably the highest upside 2nd round pick in the draft

I love Cam Oliver too. I'd take him at 37 if he's there. As to #3, I liked both Tatum and Jackson the best all year, and would switch back and forth on who I liked better a lot. For our team as constructed, I guess I take Tatum because in this modern game I think he'll be a great 4. He's just scratching the surface. Didn't even round into form after his injury until late in the ACC, and Jackson is more like Brown. There's no way Tatum is already close to his ceiling. He's 19. Anyway, can't go wrong with either one, but fit-wise, Tatum compliments better. Still, if it's true that Phil covets Jackson, we may take him to trade him, and in fact, if we do take Jackson, I predict we will trade him. If we take Tatum, we keep him.

So darned volatile with only 1 day to go. Will be glad when this is over with, not that it's really over with free agency just a week away. I hate it and and I love it. It's a massive time suck.

[soxfan2003]

I just saw Jackson's interview with Abby Chin; he came across as arrogant and insincere. his excuse for not working out with the celtics is bs. Not sure what he and his dope of an agent bj armstrong are thinking; isn't his job to get the best draft spot for his client? Funny thing is I saw Jackson's interview after working out with the lakers and he was totally engaged and different. so I don't get it. As for tatum he looks like a good but maybe not great player. I think danny really F'd this up. Fultz looks like the real deal . Between tatum and jackson I think Jckson has more upside

Jackson know's that he isn't going past 4 and no matter who drafts he is probably getting traded so why should he give a rats ass who thinks what at the moment. Danny had the #1 pick and could have given him all the love then and didn't, he made it seem like Futlz was the guy no matter what until he traded the pick. Why is Jackson supposed to go racing over to Boston know to move up one spot in the draft?

To each his own on this one I think Fultz is destined to be one of the worst #1 picks ever not becuase he won't be a decent player but he will be okay in a draft with All Stars and maybe a Super Star or two and Fultz will be a Monte Ellis type player and everyone will be like what happened there?

I can see having the guts to take Ball/Jackson/et cetera before Fultz but having watched a lot of Monta Ellis, I'd be shocked if Fultz isn't better. I just think Monta Ellis was closer to Ricky Davis type of player than a legit star. When I used to watch him on the Warriors, I wanted him traded and I didn't really care how many points he scored.

My average case for a healthy Fultz is just throw Iverson/Irving/Rose/Harden/Deron Williams/Wall/D'Angelo Russel and average them all together for their careers/future careers and that may be a fairly realistic outcome for him. I don't think that outcome is nearly as good as the average fan believes for teams interested in winning a championship and that is why I don't think it was crazy to trade his draft rights given I don't expect him to be a player that is a true magnet for other stars to play with.

I was probably one of the first Celtics fans on this board with the controversial at the time opinion that Wall had surpassed Rondo but that being said, I don't think missing out on a Wall/Kyrie Irving/Iverson/Rose PG is that big of a deal in all honesty if your true goal is an NBA championship and not just having a PG make a bunch of all-star teams.

Sounds crazy but really only 3 PG's I have seen done truly heavy lifting in the playoffs the last 15 years are 1) Chris Paul -- I know his teams have lost but he has been consistent in really giving his teams a major edge 2) Curry 3) Westbrook -- still a little hard to build with. And Chris Paul for all of his heavy lifting and excellent individual play still couldn't carry his team like a dominant wing sometimes can. That being said, it wouldn't shock me for Fultz to end up 4th on that list ahead of "playoff Harden" but to enter the top 3 would surprise me.

Fultz will just end up a true underachiever if he has a bad attitude IMHO and I don't pretend to know about that since I haven't watched him as much as people like Slar. His fairly unselfish play on offense in college would give me hope as a Philly fan but as a Celtics fan I did cringe when he said he wanted to be MVP of the league next year as a rookie. Maybe a sports psychologist/agent coaches him be confident like that but I'd rather have someone enter the league not saying those sort of things. Philly if that team is healthy seems like a good situation for him.

[Wes-J]

In light of JJ being a jackass, I'm now officially on the Isaac bandwagon.

I'd be lying if I said JJ's off the court shenanigans didn't concern me a lot.

[Avalanche]

At this point I could.. and probably will be talked into any of JJ, Tatum or Isaac if they wind up being Celtics

I still think the pick is going to be Tatum, just based off workouts, Ainge's comments about the offensive player he's looking for, Jacksons issues etc. but we'll see

[Moobydoo]

I just saw Jackson's interview with Abby Chin; he came across as arrogant and insincere. his excuse for not working out with the celtics is bs. Not sure what he and his dope of an agent bj armstrong are thinking; isn't his job to get the best draft spot for his client? Funny thing is I saw Jackson's interview after working out with the lakers and he was totally engaged and different. so I don't get it. As for tatum he looks like a good but maybe not great player. I think danny really F'd this up. Fultz looks like the real deal . Between tatum and jackson I think Jckson has more upside

You work out - do a knee and cost yourself potentially tens of millions of dollars.

Unless we're serious, it's a risk mitigation from his agent.

[titlebound1]

Tatum, won't really get into why because I'm a huge Tatum fan and may be biased. But I really think he's going to be a special player, he has the frame to bulk up and I think the athleticism concerns are somewhat overstated. He's athletic enough, IMO at least.

There is more to athleticism than just being able to run fast and jump really high. Everything he does is smooth. He makes pro caliber moves and can create without having to rely on being able to just getting a quick first step on the defender.

He also strikes me as the type who is going to fill out quite a bit. This is an easy choice imo

[31to6]

I see the 'Tatum's a better fit' argument but believe Jackson to be BPA.

Have dreamt of Jackson/Brown at the wings for months now, but we shall see. I do trust Danny.

[JMac1]

If you can say without a doubt who'd you choose, you have tunnel vision. A lot to like about both a little to dislike about both.

[ArtistNBA]

It's Tatum official now