A sliding-door moment in 2017 came back to haunt the Los Angeles Lakers last season when their arch-rivals, Boston Celtics, won their 18th NBA championship led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The Lakers missed out on Tatum, who revealed he wanted to become a Laker, in the 2017 NBA draft.
“For me, I grew up a Kobe fan. Like, I always wanted to play for the Lakers,” Tatum said on the “Club 520” podcast in November. “So for them to have the No. 2 pick and it was like it wasn’t even a thought that I was going to get drafted, that was kind of devastating, so I never worked out for the Lakers. They never came to watch me work out.”
Lakers president Earvin “Magic” Johnson went with Lonzo Ball at No. 2 and defended that pick, denying they turned a blind eye to Tatum in 2017.
“No, we took a look at him,” Johnson told SiriusXM NBA Radio on Monday, December 16.
Johnson said it was Tatum’s agent, Jeff Wechsler, who stirred him away from the Lakers.
“His agent also didn’t want us to work him out because he didn’t want him to end up on the Lakers because we’re already top-heavy with the forwards,” Johnson added.
Jayson Tatum ‘Would’ve Been Sitting’ on Lakers Bench
Johnson said Tatum in Lakers uniform could have stunted his growth into an NBA star.
“We were top heavy in forwards,” Johnson explained. “I couldn’t take him because we had Brandon Ingram, who was only in his second year, Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. So I already had too many forwards. There [were] already problems because they all wanted to play. So if I took another forward, we would’ve never seen this Tatum because he would’ve been sitting on that bench [since] we already had Julius and Brandon Ingram starting.”
At the time, the point guard position was the Lakers’ biggest need, with the team already filled with forwards.
Ball was the best point guard coming into that draft after he was named the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Year, beating out eventual No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz.
Ball was a triple-double threat. He was the first Pac-12 player to average 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists per game since Jason Kidd did it at California.
Unfortunately, injuries robbed Ball of stardom, while the Lakers’ trio of forwards were either let go or traded.
They traded Nance Jr. during that season and let Randle walk the following offseason to open up the cap room to sign LeBron James. Then, they traded Ingram as part of the package that landed them Anthony Davis.
James and Davis led the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship in 2020.
Jayson Tatum Wanted To Get Traded After Celtics Selection
In the same “Club 520” podcast interview, Tatum revealed he wanted to get traded before his rookie season in Boston.
“I got drafted, then Gordon Hayward signed with the Celtics,” Tatum said. “I called my agent, like, ‘Yo, I gotta get traded.’ That was before the NBA Summer League before I ever played a game [for Boston].”
“He was like, ‘Relax, you gotta chill.’ I’m like, ‘Yo, I’m trying to play. I didn’t get drafted to come off the bench and not start.’ He was like, ‘You’re in a great organization. They’re gonna teach you how to play the right way.’”
Fortunately for the Celtics and unfortunately for the Lakers, Tatum calmed down after his talk with his agent and stayed in Boston.
And the rest is history.
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