What to make of Jayson Tatum’s comments regarding the Markelle Fultz trade

If a recent interview from Jayson Tatum is the truth, the Philadelphia 76ers may have had a shot at Markelle Fultz without trading up.

Players and general managers don’t necessarily convey the truth at every junction of the offseason, but the Boston Celtics may have duped the Philadelphia 76ers. According to Jayson Tatum in a recent podcast appearance, he would have been the No. 1 pick should Boston have kept it — meaning the Sixers, who traded up to grab Fultz, may have done so needlessly.

Philadelphia 76ers

This is something that Danny Ainge had already hinted at before the draft, while also reconfirming the notion afterwards. The Celtics GM, in rather blunt fashion, dropped this bomb in lieu of their selection: “Yes, we would have picked him first.”

There’s obviously potential for falsity, as neither Tatum nor Ainge is required to tell the truth here — nor are they incentivized to do so. There have been plenty of situations where a team says they got their preferred player, with the Lakers doing the very same thing after selecting Lonzo Ball second.

That runs contrary to a pre-draft report saying that L.A. was considering a move up to select Markelle Fultz.

There are smoke and mirrors aplenty around draft night, and there’s a very real chance that we’re simply seeing an extension of that. Stating that Tatum would’ve been their pick at one makes the Celtics’ decision far more palatable from a PR perspective, while also putting Ainge is an especially good position if his decision pans out.

In layman’s terms: Don’t put too much stock in comments like these.

There is, however, some meaning to this discussion. If the Celtics were indeed keen to Tatum first, that means the Sixers gave away a valuable asset without much reason. There was a prohibitive safety net in insuring they got the top pick, but if what Ainge and Tatum say is true, that likely wasn’t worth an additional first round pick that will likely end up in the lottery.

Bryan Colangelo got crafty with his protections, keeping the Sixers’ chances of grabbing the top pick alive by only forfeiting the Lakers pick to Boston if it falls between two and five. That also leaves a chance for Philadelphia to get a pick outside of the top five, though, in which case they’d lose the Kings’ 2019 first rounder in unprotected fashion.

With the moves Sacramento has made, there’s some hope for rapid improvement by 2019 — which could limit the damage that comes with losing that pick. But when you assume George Hill declines and De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield aren’t heading a playoff-caliber offense, it’s difficult to see the Kings climbing outside of the bottom 14 any time soon.

The Sixers will be trending the right direction regardless, with their protections do greatly minimize the potential for a catastrophic misstep in regards to the pre-draft trade. But Ainge, if Tatum was truly the intension all along, was certainly clever enough to not only keep their desires at large, but swing a deal to gain other tangible value alongside him.

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You can counter that by saying Tatum isn’t worth the first pick, nor was he their best bet at three, but hat only leads to further convolution in the ever-arduous task of gauging Danny Ainge’s plans long term.