While all the trade talk surrounding the Anthony Davis sweepstakes appears to have severely impacted the Los Angeles Lakers’ young core in a negative way, perhaps it could be having the opposite impact on another young star who’s often tied to Davis.
Jayson Tatum is seen as the centerpiece of any deal that would send the New Orleans Pelicans star to the Boston Celtics. The two teams reportedly have discussed deals centering around the Duke product, but the C’s will have to wait until the summer to try and acquire Davis.
While most players might be downtrodden about the possibility of being traded from one of the top teams in the East to a Western Conference bottom feeder, that might not be Tatum’s mindset, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
“It’s gossip, but the gossip is Jayson Tatum wouldn’t mind (being traded),” McMahon said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast. “Jayson Tatum wouldn’t mind if he’s shipped to New Orleans and has a chance to be the face of the franchise somewhere. Because he’s not going to get that opportunity in Boston, at least not in the immediate future.”
Tatum potentially could get that opportunity in Boston if Kyrie Irving were to leave this offseason in free agency. But if the star guard re-ups with the C’s as many expect, it won’t be “Tatum’s Team” for quite some time.
As McMahon noted, this is just gossip but it’s certainly interesting given the current state of the Celtics and their reported locker room chemistry issues.
Tatum broke out of his early sophomore slump to average 16.4 points per game on 45.3 percent shooting. If Tatum is open to a deal, that could push Danny Ainge to include him in a trade, but, then again, the C’s won’t be the only team blowing up the Pelicans’ phone this offseason.
