Anthony Davis traded to Lakers(page 272)

[slightly biased bias fan]

It's interesting if you compare Tatum's rookie season to Davis' it is very compatible. They were both 19 years old and their per 36 min comparison:

Tatum: 16.4 PPG, 5.2 TRB, 1.9 AST, 1.2 STL, 0.9 BLK, 1.7 TOV, .475 FG%, .826 FT%, .434 3P%
Davis: 16.9 PPG, 10.2 TRB, 1.2 AST, 1.5 STL, 2.2 BLK, 1.7 TOV, .516 FG%, .751 FT%, .000 3P%

You could even say Tatum's per 36 was diminished being on a contender rather than a lottery team.

Full statistical comparison: http://bkref.com/tiny/DAA8q

[boscel33]

In the new world order of the NBA, Tatum is going to have more value than the brow.  I'll keep Tatum and let the others next year start making these trade offers about him because he's a superstar.

[Moranis]

You guys are insane if you wouldn't trade Tatum for Davis straight up.  That is the easiest trade to make in the world. 

[fairweatherfan]

Davis is much better than Tatum is now and substantially better than we could reasonably hope for Tatum to be.  But injury risk, rookie contract+RFA rights and a large dose of homerism make me reluctant in spite of knowing how lopsided it is on paper.  Good thing I don't get a vote!

[tazzmaniac]

You guys are insane if you wouldn't trade Tatum for Davis straight up.  That is the easiest trade to make in the world.

Only 4 insane so far.  Irving, Brown, Hayward, Horford, Davis would be killer.   GSW who? 

[Rakulp]

Would I do it right now?  Yes

Would I "want" to do it right now?  Mixed feelings, I really want to see where his career goes and I want to see it in green.

Would I do this trade in a year's time?  Ask me a year from now!   But I'm willing to bet you that with another year gone, that Tatum is going to get better while Davis probably won't.

[fairweatherfan]

No. There is a chance that Tatum is the next Durant. Not a small chance, a larger than average chance. Anyone with eyes who saw Tatum do what he did during the season then during the playoffs knows superstardom is in his future


Also Tatum is cost controlled.

Also Tatum doesn't have the injury history of davis.


Most execs around the league believe Tatum is untradeable

There is not a larger than average chance that Tatum becomes arguably the best scorer post-2000.

why not? Tatums the best wing prospect in the past 5 years of drafts.  That doesn’t guarantee anything but certainly increases his chances of being the next Durant. Tatum can score from anywhere on the floor, so why would he have. Problem being the next great scorer in the nba?

Because 'larger than average chance' suggests that it's more likely than not that JT develops into a scorer of Durant's caliber. Which is simply not true. Kevin Durant is a top 5 all time scorer per game, and is a 7 foot tall wing with guard ball handling skills. I would say he's the best scorer we've seen since MJ.

Another perspective - the average chance for a given player to be as good as Durant is 0. Tatum's we can say is definitely somewhere north of 0.  Ta-da!

[tazzmaniac]

Davis is much better than Tatum is now and substantially better than we could reasonably hope for Tatum to be.  But injury risk, rookie contract+RFA rights and a large dose of homerism make me reluctant in spite of knowing how lopsided it is on paper.  Good thing I don't get a vote!

If Davis were a few years older maybe but he's only 25.  Championships are hard to get.  Davis for Tatum + salary filler would vault us to Championship favorites. 

[KungPoweChicken]

I probably would not do it.

[ETNCeltics]

I would do it, with tears in my eyes. I think Tatum is going to be a superstar, 1st team all nba type player.

But simply put, Davis was the best player in the league the 2nd half of the season. At age 25. He's extraordinary at everything other than 3 pt shooting. If he stays healthy for all of '18-19, I expect he'll be mvp, or close to it.

[TheSundanceKid]

I think it's a no brainer if you know Kyrie is sticking around. A Kyrie - Hayward - Horford - AD core is better than the Warriors.
If Kyrie left in the summer though then it's just another good team in the league.
On the balance of things I would keep Tatum, however I don't think a GM could justify keeping him if that trade were available

[JHTruth]

I think I would, but I don't think it's as much a no-brainer as some people might think. In 2-3 years I'd bet it will be a wash IMHO..

[Vermont Green]

I think it is becoming a harder decision as time goes on, it looks like Tatum may be 6'10-11 in shoes and could be still growing. Paul George is around the 6'9-10 range and here we can see he is obviously taller than him.

That is an interesting photo but if you are suggesting that this means that Tatum could be a PF in the future, I don't agree.  I would not play Tatum primarily as a big any more than I would play Durant primarily as a big (and Durant is bigger than Tatum).

As far as the trade, as much as I like Tatum, Davis is better and is likely to stay better for some time to come, possibly forever.  We don't have the salary to make it happen though so I am not getting my hopes up.

[JHTruth]

No. There is a chance that Tatum is the next Durant. Not a small chance, a larger than average chance. Anyone with eyes who saw Tatum do what he did during the season then during the playoffs knows superstardom is in his future


Also Tatum is cost controlled.

Also Tatum doesn't have the injury history of davis.


Most execs around the league believe Tatum is untradeable

There is not a larger than average chance that Tatum becomes arguably the best scorer post-2000.

why not? Tatums the best wing prospect in the past 5 years of drafts.  That doesn’t guarantee anything but certainly increases his chances of being the next Durant. Tatum can score from anywhere on the floor, so why would he have. Problem being the next great scorer in the nba?

Because 'larger than average chance' suggests that it's more likely than not that JT develops into a scorer of Durant's caliber. Which is simply not true. Kevin Durant is a top 5 all time scorer per game, and is a 7 foot tall wing with guard ball handling skills. I would say he's the best scorer we've seen since MJ.

There is so much that would have to go right for JT to achieve that level of scoring that I think it is simply incorrect to say that the chance is anything above small. Plus, on a team with as many scoring options as we have, like KI - a proven championship level scorer - or Hayward - a proven number 1 option on a #5 seed in the West - alongside JB and Al, it is hard to foresee Tatum getting much higher than 25ppg

Well that's why we have to take seriously that Danny will consider retooling the team around Tatum. Kyrie and Hayward might not even be here in three years..

[fairweatherfan]

Davis is much better than Tatum is now and substantially better than we could reasonably hope for Tatum to be.  But injury risk, rookie contract+RFA rights and a large dose of homerism make me reluctant in spite of knowing how lopsided it is on paper.  Good thing I don't get a vote!

If Davis were a few years older maybe but he's only 25.  Championships are hard to get.  Davis for Tatum + salary filler would vault us to Championship favorites.

Oh I know, it's just a heart vs head fight.  I had a lesser version of the same conflict after Kyrie demanded a trade and IT was a logical offer.  It's obvious what the right move is, though it might be less so in a year or two when New Orleans might be interested in talking.