3 ways Philadelphia 76ers would be better off with Jayson Tatum

The Philadelphia 76ers would be in a much better place now than where they currently are if they had just drafted Jayson Tatum back in the 2017 NBA Draft.

One could argue that the 2017 NBA Draft undid a lot of the positive work that Sam Hinkie did as general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers during what was deem “The Process”. Bryan Colangelo, who replaced Hinkie as the top decision-maker, not only traded away what would become the 14th pick of 2019 NBA Draft, but the player selected as a result of that trade was ineffective during this time in Philly.

Now to be clear, to blame Markelle Fultz for his freak thoracic outlet syndrome injury and the negative impact it had on him while on the Sixers wouldn’t be fair. It had become clear that he and the 76ers weren’t going to work, so he was traded to the Orlando Magic where he’s seen some success. However, it’s clear that he’s not the best player from that draft.

Jayson Tatum has proven to be the best player in that draft. This season, he’s averaging 23.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, while converting 44.8 percent of his field goals and 39.8 percent of his 3-pointers. I recently backed up my opinion about him being the best player in the draft in the 2017 Re-draft for FanSided.

It’s fair to say that if the Sixers had actually picked Tatum over Fultz with the number one pick, then Tatum would have changed the course of the franchise. Having him on the roster would have positively impacted the 76ers in at least three ways.