2017 NBA Draft: The Boston Celtics should not draft Jayson Tatum

After trading the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft for the third overall pick and a future asset, the Boston Celtics should steer clear of Jayson Tatum.

When reports surfaced that the Boston Celtics were favoring Josh Jackson in the 2017 NBA Draft, sirens should have gone off.

A few days later, their No. 1 pick belonged to the Philadelphia 76ers.

While the Celtics came away fine from the trade, it leaves them with a much tougher decision to make. Reports regarding hesitancy about Markelle Fultz and no desire to add a guard have flooded the internet.

In fact, they may not even keep the third overall pick.

Should they keep the pick though, it’ll likely be either Josh Jackson or Jayson Tatum. Between Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas, the Celtics probably feel better about their backcourt than the small and power forward spots. Adding a wing that can play and switch with Jae Crowder is very appealing.

Tatum vs. Jackson

Tatum is no slouch on defense. In fact, he may be a bit underrated there. Jackson, on the other hand, could be an elite defender. While Jackson’s shooting mechanics aren’t great, Tatum was far from an elite shooter at Duke.

In his one season, Tatum shot just 34.2 percent from three and had an effective field goal percentage of just over 50, per Hoop-Math. He’s billed to be an elite scorer, but he’s far from efficient, taking too many midrange jumpers (nearly 35 percent of his total shots).

While post-ups like the one above are useful in the NBA, he won’t be able to bully most wings and bigs for several years. When the Celtics ponder who they should be taking with this pick, they need to think about who the players they’re considering can become.

This falls under the context of both how they’d fit into a championship team on the Celtics and how they’d appeal as an asset to another franchise. For Boston, why assemble all these draft picks if you’re not going with guys who are more likely to fit into a championship level team?

Tatum is unlikely to turn into the best player or a super role player on a championship team. With several players on the board who can fit those descriptions, he just doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Celtics. They need a player who doesn’t need the ball to be effective. With a usage rate over 26 percent, per Sports-Reference, Tatum is just not that player.

Need to nail these picks

Danny Ainge is not exactly a superb drafter. Jaylen Brown looks like a better pick than at the time, but that’s mostly relative to the subpar rookie seasons from his peers. He still lacks a feel for the game and almost any definable skill. Look beyond Brown and you see a list of picks that Boston took and haven’t turned into much.

Between No. 3 and the 2018 Brooklyn Nets pick, should Boston keep them, they can’t mess up these selections. The Celtics must target players who can both fit their system and be trade bait.

Next: NBA Trade Grades - Celtics deal No. 1 pick to 76ers

That’s not Tatum, who again, will likely not become the best player on a championship team nor a super role player. It’s much easier to picture Jackson or Jonathan Isaac becoming very useful role players in Boston.