https://www.celticsblog.com/2019/2/25/18239490/boston-celtics-jayson-tatum-impressed-anthony-davis-and-other-links-quotes
Interesting article above imo. Playing with Tatum might be a condition of AD signing long term in Boston
The packages proposed here for a one year guarantee are way above what George and Butler went for
Smart, 4x picks and yabu for filler imo, Orr snt Morris, add baynes and Smart plus the picks. That’s 3 likely starters plus 4 cost controlled contract, more than enough
George was traded for Oladipo and Sabonis. While Tatum might someday be as good or better than Oladipo, he isn't at this point and may never be. Now Tatum is a better prospect than Saric and Covington, but that isn't exactly the same situation given Butler wasn't in Minnesota very long and was burning bridges like crazy.
In addition, neither George nor Butler is as good as Davis. Not even close.
But it's not about what Oladipo has turned into. It's about what he was when he was traded for. For OKC, he averaged 15.9/2.6ast/4.3 reb on 44/36/75 splits. Not bad at all, but not exactly a world beater. Granted he has flourished into a star after the trade, and I'm sure it's hard for guards to play next to WB, but his current state is meaningless when looking at the circumstances of that PG trade.
I agree that Tatum has a good chance to never be Dipo's level (just to make that clear. )
His totals were lower across the board (though he upticked his shooting) his 1 season in OKC. Players don't just get worse. It was pretty clear that playing with a ball dominant guard like Westbrook affected his totals. He obviously took a leap as the #1 guy in Indiana, but he was showing steady growth all along so it really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise. I mean this year he was averaging less than 19 a game before he got hurt as Indiana had a deeper team and he scaled back his shooting for more passing (big jump in apg).
And they also got Sabonis in the trade who showed enough as a rookie in OKC that what he has become already in just his 3rd year shouldn't have come as a surprise.
So the Pacers got a very good younger player in Dipo and a very good prospect in Sabonis, for George, who was coming off a season when he didn't make an All NBA Team in a season when he was healthy (so he wasn't a top 15 player at least statistically - I'd argue he was, but he didn't make an All NBA team).
Davis is a better player than George (and a much better one when you consider the time of the trade). This summer, Davis will be almost a full year younger than George was at the time of the trade as well.
So what I'm saying, is Tatum has to be included in the deal and Boston shouldn't hesitate at all to include him. That should be the expected value based on prior trades for top tier players. And that is why the Lakers couldn't get it done, they just don't have the necessary value in assets to have gotten it done.