According to Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge, there was precisely zero percent chance the All-Star forward would have ended up playing for the Phoenix Suns.
This was of course in reference to comments made by Jayson Tatum in a recent episode of the “All the Smoke” podcast on which the Duke product revealed he had been leaning heavily towards wanting to be drafted by the Suns ahead of the 2017 NBA Draft.
Ainge responded — also on a podcast, this time ESPN’s “The Lowe Post” — to speculation about how close the reality Tatum described was to playing out in real life:
“Jayson was never going to end up in Phoenix, even if he didn’t come in for that second workout with us a few days before the draft in Boston,” he explained. “We were still going to take Jayson Tatum.”
[protected-iframe id=”a29a09a6fdda65f133ffe4af8ff9db71-134770808-157869264″ info=”https://tunein.com/embed/player/t143720343/” scrolling=”no”]
At the time, the Celtics had traded back with the Philadelphia 76ers, correctly divining they were after guard Markelle Fultz with the top overall selection.
With the Los Angeles Lakers signaling for weeks they’d be after point guard Lonzo Ball, Boston felt confident enough they’d get their man at No. 3.
They did, and while Phoenix was indeed picking fourth, it would have required a heft offer to convince the Lakers it would have been worth passing on the draft apple of their eye.
Jayson Tatum reveals he wanted Suns to draft him in new interview https://t.co/b51811K0Id via @thecelticswire
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 12, 2020
The ex-post facto conversations springing up regarding what other teams could’ve (and probably should have, if it were even possible) done doesn’t bother the Celtics president, though.
“It’s good that we have Jayson and it’s good that there are stories coming about him and how everybody else would have gotten him,” noted Ainge on the podcast, a wry grin almost audible on the recording.
[lawrence-related id=34256,34197,34089,34083]