Jayson Tatum has been the cornerstone player for the Boston Celtics since he was drafted by the franchise back in 2017. Since making his debut in the league, Tatum has come a long way and has improved his game with each passing season.
He added another achievement to the list by making it to the NBA Finals last season. Making it to the NBA Finals is one thing, but winning it is what separates good players from the great ones.
Ahead of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Celtics are trying to get more help around their young star. One way that the franchise believes it will be successful is by trying to trade for Kevin Durant.
In fact, the 17-time NBA Champions already offered Jaylen Brown in a trade package for KD, but the Nets rejected. This has done nothing but upset Brown, who gave his very best throughout the 2021-22 NBA season.
With the Nets rejecting their offer, the Celtics have two options. Either they can add more assets to the trade package around Brown or simply replace Brown with Tatum as the centerpiece in the trade package.
Although there is a very low chance that the Celtics will include Tatum in a deal, NBA analyst Nick Wright made a very promising point about why the Celtics should trade Tatum for KD.
(Starts at 0:33):
"The simple trade is Kevin Durant for Jayson Tatum. … Bill Simmons kept saying, 'I'm not trading 15 years of Player X for Kevin Durant.' 15 years of Player X is not a thing anymore."
— @getnickwright reacts to Celtics reportedly offering a Jaylen Brown package for KD: pic.twitter.com/UD4UA2MzHf
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) July 25, 2022
“The simple trade is Kevin Durant for Jayson Tatum,” Wright said. ” … [Bill Simmons] kept saying, ‘Well, I’m not trading 15 years of Player X for three years Kevin Durant.’ And here’s why I bring it up. 15 years of Player X is not a thing anymore. … In today’s NBA, with the player mobility, and the guys demanding trade within contracts, moving around, is it possible we are overvaluing a guy’s youth. Because the assumption had been, ‘Well his career will be spent in one place. Says who?
It might be that the Celtics would have KD for the next three years or Tatum for the next three years. And then he leaves. So who would you rather have.”
Wright is certainly correct about the fact that there is no guarantee Tatum will spend the rest of his career with the Boston Celtics.
If the Celtics consistently fail to win any NBA Championships, at one point or another, Tatum might ask for a trade out of the team. If we take that into account, having Kevin Durant for three years is definitely a better deal than having JT for three seasons.
