The Weekend Greenie Bag: Just How Good Can Jayson Tatum Be?
Alright by now football is heading to the afternoon slate, maybe you’re about to take your late Sunday afternoon nap, either way what better time to check in and see what’s on the minds of stoolies after our first handful of games. We’ve seen plenty so far, some good, some bad, all things you could expect as they start to get back into the flow of things. Remember, the Greenie Bag can be your safe space to both irrationally freak out or ramble absolute nothingness when you’re drunk off Kool Aid. Just tweet me whatever with #GreenieBag or you can write into greenieceltsbag@gmail.com. It’s open 24/7 so whenever you have a take pop into your head, I want to hear about it.
Now, to your questions
Hey Greenie,
Back in the ’15 draft, Trader Danny offer CHA 6 draft picks, including an unprotected BKN pick, to move up to #9 (Kaminsky) so they could take Justise Winslow. What do you think that the team would look like now if that turd of a trade happened? No Scary Terry @ 16, either no Tatum, Brown, or trade for Kyrie depending on which pick it was. I’m thinking Jordan deserves a ring when we win the Ship. – Matt
Sometimes the best deals are the ones that never happen, and that ridiculous offer from Ainge certainly qualifies. Imagine what the narrative around Ainge and really this entire rebuild would be if Jordan accepted that? I’m going to go ahead and say drastically different. It’s why like with most things in this league, if you want to build a dynasty you need some sort of luck. Whether it was Curry dropping, or winning the Lottery, or another GM being too stupid they ultimately save you from disaster. I can’t even fathom what this team would look like, certainly not as stacked and deep as they are now. But at the same time you have to factor that whoever Brad was given, he would make better. Sure Justise Winslow looks like a disaster in MIA, but you give him some Brad magic and who knows.
I’m just happy we don’t have to worry about that, because I like this version so much better.
Greenie,
I think Jaylen Brown’s ceiling is Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum’s ceiling is Carmelo Anthony. I’m not saying that these are the players they will necessarily become, just if everything works out. Am I wrong? – Willie
I could get behind the Jaylen comparison. For that to happen though he’s going to have to take a major leap on the defensive end. I can see it offensively sure, he’s sneaky as good a shooter as Butler was when he was in his 3rd year, but he’s a guy who was an All NBA defender. I’d love to see Jaylen get to that level, but he has a way to go. For Tatum, some people will laugh at your comparison but that’s just because they don’t really remember prime Melo. He’s still a HOF iso scorer and Tatum can definitely reach that offensive potential. He has the length and the scoring arsenal to do it. The only difference is Tatum is already a much better defender than Melo ever was, so I would set the sights higher. What about TMac or something? I just think he’s a better dunker and finisher at the rim than Melo, so TMac feels more right.
Hello Daniel Jeremiah Greenberg
Here is my question. Would you trade Brown, Rozier and a pick for AD?
I see this team making the finals but without AD, I do not see them beating the Golden Showers. Brown has already hit his ceiling.Thanks and VIVA – Ryan
Here’s a little behind the scenes for you all. Each and every week Ryan writes into this mailbag suggesting, no, demanding the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown. I’m pretty sure it consumes him. Ryan, for the one millionth time, they are not trading Jaylen Brown this season, nor should they. I dunno why you have such a problem with him, but I suggest you get over it.
Sox are in the world series, C’s smoke the 76ers with a rusty Kyrie and a still not 100% Gordon. Life is good. So I’m sending this b4 the Raptors game, but early on short of playing the Warriors what should we look at to see how narrow the gap is between Golden State and the C’s? Love are bench, coaching, and our ability to play position less basketball makes me think the gap is not as wide as people think. Congratulations on the fulltime Gig..#fourhorseman – Brian
To be honest, the only way to know what your gap is between yourself and GS is to actually play GS. Even if you play someone like HOU or TOR or something like that, in my opinion that still doesn’t tell you much about GS because there is only one GS. For example, the Celts lost up in TOR, and they look to be a legit matchup problem. At the same time, that doesn’t change the fact that the Celtics match up with GS much better which is why they ALWAYS play that team close and have won each of the last two years in their building.
And even still, you’re getting the regular season Warriors which are an entirely different animal. Mostly because you can’t be sure they are trying. Honestly the gap is probably far enough where they would obviously be favored in a matchup and the Celtics would have to play perfect basketball just to be fortunate enough to fore a Game 7. Until someone knocks GS off, you have to concede they are still a tier above.
Whatsup Greenie
There has been so much hype surrounding the Celtics this year and rightfully so. Obviously this team isn’t perfect, so what do you think their biggest problem will be this year? What’s your biggest worries?- Tyler
Tyler, how much time do you have? Here’s what I go through during my daily therapy session
1. Scoring droughts
2. Lack of rebounding
3. Not enough Yabu minutes
4. Health
5. Lazy defense
6. Health
7. Hero ball
8. Settling for long twos
9. Blown leads
10. Shooting
I could go on and on but that’s a good place to start. Basically as I’ve been saying all along, despite the additional talent, this is still the same old team we’ve seen for years, and they are still going to have many of the same problems they did last year. It’s now just about relying on that talent to get them through it. They are far from perfect and really everyone outside of GS is, so I am confident in saying it’ll be another stress filled season and frankly I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Whatsup Greenie
There has been so much hype surrounding the Celtics this year and rightfully so. Obviously this team isn’t perfect, so what do you think their biggest problem will be this year? What’s your biggest worries? – Mike
I think this is going to be my new favorite fake drama story. First it was going to be “what about the shots!!”, now it’s “who’s team is this going to be?”. Guess what, it’s going to chance on a nightly basis. Some nights, like last night in NY, it’s going to be Tatum’s team. He had the hot hand and he came through. Another night, we could see Kyrie come through and take over and close a game out. Then another it could be Hayward and Jaylen. That’s the beauty of having all this talent. If I had to choose right now whose “team” it is, I’d probably say Kyrie. He’s got the ring and was certainly brought in to run this team. But if Tatum keeps progressing, you could probably make the same argument for him at the end of the year. The good news is everyone already trusts him NOW to be that guy, and he doesn’t shy away from the moment.
If anything this is mostly going to be a talk radio thing, because honestly it doesn’t seem like this team gives a shit either way. They just want to win.
Hey Greenie,
Love the Celtics coverage, keep up the good work. I mentioned in a tweet last night when I was high on all the koolaid, but I’ve thought about it more rationally today and I think it’s a serious question that deserves some serious thought. Will Tatum be the best offensive player in the league in 2-3 years? There’s literally nothing he can’t do. His outside shooting has been tremendous, whether it’s a catch and shoot or off the dribble. He can post up smaller guys at will and take bigger guys off the dribble with his smooth crossover and hesitation dribble. Now after a few games of seeing his fade-away, I’m convinced that’s and unguardable shot. Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts.
Viva,
Dan in Vermont
A clear Kool Aid email and I love it. Look, we’re all riding high right now, but let’s try and keep some perspective. Let’s be generous and say 3 years, guys like this will still be in the league and playing at a high level: Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Giannis, Kawhi, Kyrie, Anthony Davis, etc etc. So am I putting Tatum as the top scorer on that list? I can’t. At that point he’ll be 23, but I think for him to be the best offensive player in the league, you need to wait until that wave is close to out of the league. So maybe during his 26 or 27 age season. He may be polished enough to go toe to toe with those guys on any given night, but for example as long as Durant is still in the league, he’s going to be a better offensive player because he’s basically one of the best scorers the league has EVER seen.
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It’s important we don’t rush our expectations of Tatum. He’s already been WAY better than we thought, but let’s not demand that he be the best in the league before his rookie deal is even up yet. He has all the potential in the world and is in a great environment, let’s just see what happens.
Out of that group, probably Robert Williams since I can’t take Yabu. I think his opportunities will be limited, but when he’s out there he’ll show flashes that will cause us all to overreact, as is tradition.
Tatum and Yabu duh.
And that’s it! Thank you as always to everyone who wrote in, this blog is nothing without you. Of course keep em coming as we have more games this week and I’m sure you’ll have takes from them. I hope you guys have a great rest of your Sunday, and I’ll see you next weekend!