Tatum is the Smokescreen. It's Jackson.

[footey]

Agree with KGLL.

Tatum a smoke screen.

Jackson is the target.

[celticinorlando]

Taking Jackson would be a mistake. He is a problem and adds zero offensively. He would be just another average role player.

[Chris22]

I'm fine with Jackson, Tatum, or Isaac.
IT, Brown, Hayward, Horford, and Griffin.

[slamtheking]

I'm fine with Jackson, Tatum, or Isaac.
IT, Brown, Hayward, Horford, and Griffin.

can't sign both hayward and griffin - don't even technically have a full max slot available for either of them even after cutting ties with all the FAs on the team.

[footey]

Taking Jackson would be a mistake. He is a problem and adds zero offensively. He would be just another average role player.

LOL

[ETNCeltics]

Both have their weaknesses. Jackson will be better than Marcus Smart, he's an infinitely better athlete, but it shouldn't surprise anyone if JJ didn't turn into a good offensive player, and frankly, that's what matters most. We need shooters and a guy who can get his own shot when he needs to, and Jackson doesn't have that yet.

Neither does Tatum, but he's closer to it. He has a good all around game, but the concerns about his lack of quickness and him being good at everything but great at nothing are well-founded. This is why passing on Fultz was such a gigantic mistake. We need an offensive playmaker other than Isaiah, and we gave away the guy most likely to become one, in favor of 2 guys with big question marks in their game.

IMO, past Fultz, the best player in this draft is Dennis Smith. I don't think there's any way ainge takes him without trading down, but apart from his problematic attitude, he has a game that if refined, can be without weakness, and he's a beast one on one or in the open floor.

[Celtics18]

Isaac.

[Geo123]

 Horford
 Jackson Crowder
 Hayward Brown
 Bradley Smart
 Thomas Rozier

Josh Jackson is not an NBA power forward, let alone a starting NBA power forward. He's weak and not very long, how do you expect him to play PF?? He'd be a Tyrus Thomas power forward.

Exactly.  He's a poor shooter, both jump shooting and FT's (he shot less than 60%) and doesn't have the body to play PF.  Plus there are questions about outside influences (the people he hangs around with).  There have been more than one off court issue with him (I live within an hour of Lawrence).   

On the plus side he's a very good athlete with pretty decent handles who runs the floor well. Also, he plays pretty good defense and has excellent foot speed/quickness.    If he won't even work out for us I wouldn't take him.  He's not as good as Brown and if we're going after Gordon and already have Crowder why would we do this? 

[Tr1boy]

Are some of folks going to let any of these guys develop??

Jackson is skinny and cant shoot. The end.

He is only 20

[max215]

I'm not sure what the logic here is, but I disagree; I think Tatum is the guy and the Jackson stuff is a smokescreen. With Sacramento/Phoenix allegedly obsessed with him, I believe Danny's dream is to trade back still land Tatum. As for the comparison of Jackson to Butler at the same age, that's ridiculous. Butler underwent extreme outlier development. This is like saying that Tyler Ulis is ahead of where Isaiah Thomas was at that age; it's not typical for a second-round 5'9 point guard to develop into a superstar at 28.

 It's a fact that be Jackson was better than Butler at age 20. That's what scouts do for a living.

 He is a much higher rated prospect that is further along in his development than Butler was.

  It remains to be seen who will end up being the better player the only point I'm making is Jackson was better at 20 years old.

You're missing the point. Obviously, Jackson is better than Butler at age 20. Butler developed at an extraordinarily unusual rate at an extraordinarily late age. I'll give you another parallel. Let's think of a current mid-twenties guard who appears to have hit his ceiling as a borderline All-Star. How about CJ McCollum? How likely do you think it is that CJ McCollum wins two MVPs and two titles within the next three years? Probably not very likely. That's because mid-twenties guards who appear to have hit their ceilings don't typically follow Stephen Curry's growth curve. Using extreme outliers as comparisons is pointless.

 Max. What are you talking about? It's very simple.

 Jackson is a better prospect than Jimmy Butler, he's a better prospect than Jaylen Brown was. He's even a better prospect than Kawaii Leonard was.

 It just means he is further along in the development stage than those other guys were, that's it.

 Leonard and Butler basically reach their ceilings which is impressive hats off to both of them. We have no idea if brown or Jackson will reach the ceiling but the point is is that Jackson is the most advanced out of all of them to this point.

Yes, Jackson is way ahead of both of those guys at the same age. The amount that those two developed is beyond unusual. Therefore, who cares if Jackson is ahead of those guys, as the rate at which those two developed is beyond unusual.

[Fan from VT]

Tatum vs Jackson is hard.

Can people think of good comps where two consensus nearly equally rated top 5 picks played similar positions and one was "skill" and one was "athlete?" If so, which one worked out better?

I'd say Wiggins/Parker is still undetermined/wash

KAT vs Okafor is a massive win for KAT; hopefully if this is the wing version of that we make the right choice.

Lebron vs Anthony would favor Lebron, though that one might be unfair, and if Tatum was Anthony, he'd probably be better than whatever Jackson will be.

Dwight Howard wins over Emeka Okafor.

Harden vs Tyreke could be a win for "skill over athleticism."

Some "To Be Determined" ones that may meet the criteris:

Smart vs Exum (currently favors Smart, the "athlete")
Gordon vs Randle


I don't know. It's a horribly small and specific sample, but it seems to suggest that if 2 players are equal, go with the elite level athlete. On the other hand, I don't know enough about Tatum to know if he is just "good not great" athlete; his size and his age certainly are in his favor over Jackson, which may make this comparison harder.

[gouki88]

I'm not sure what the logic here is, but I disagree; I think Tatum is the guy and the Jackson stuff is a smokescreen. With Sacramento/Phoenix allegedly obsessed with him, I believe Danny's dream is to trade back still land Tatum. As for the comparison of Jackson to Butler at the same age, that's ridiculous. Butler underwent extreme outlier development. This is like saying that Tyler Ulis is ahead of where Isaiah Thomas was at that age; it's not typical for a second-round 5'9 point guard to develop into a superstar at 28.

 It's a fact that be Jackson was better than Butler at age 20. That's what scouts do for a living.

 He is a much higher rated prospect that is further along in his development than Butler was.

  It remains to be seen who will end up being the better player the only point I'm making is Jackson was better at 20 years old.

You're missing the point. Obviously, Jackson is better than Butler at age 20. Butler developed at an extraordinarily unusual rate at an extraordinarily late age. I'll give you another parallel. Let's think of a current mid-twenties guard who appears to have hit his ceiling as a borderline All-Star. How about CJ McCollum? How likely do you think it is that CJ McCollum wins two MVPs and two titles within the next three years? Probably not very likely. That's because mid-twenties guards who appear to have hit their ceilings don't typically follow Stephen Curry's growth curve. Using extreme outliers as comparisons is pointless.

 Max. What are you talking about? It's very simple.

 Jackson is a better prospect than Jimmy Butler, he's a better prospect than Jaylen Brown was. He's even a better prospect than Kawaii Leonard was.

 It just means he is further along in the development stage than those other guys were, that's it.

 Leonard and Butler basically reach their ceilings which is impressive hats off to both of them. We have no idea if brown or Jackson will reach the ceiling but the point is is that Jackson is the most advanced out of all of them to this point.

Yes, Jackson is way ahead of both of those guys at the same age. The amount that those two developed is beyond unusual. Therefore, who cares if Jackson is ahead of those guys, as the rate at which those two developed is beyond unusual.

TP Max.

Using comparisons to Jimmy Butler and Kawhi is ridiculous, as these two came out of nowhere to become All-Stars. He compares far more to guys like MKG (although MKG was more NBA ready) in terms of being athletic, defensive high motor types.

[Tr1boy]

I'm not sure what the logic here is, but I disagree; I think Tatum is the guy and the Jackson stuff is a smokescreen. With Sacramento/Phoenix allegedly obsessed with him, I believe Danny's dream is to trade back still land Tatum. As for the comparison of Jackson to Butler at the same age, that's ridiculous. Butler underwent extreme outlier development. This is like saying that Tyler Ulis is ahead of where Isaiah Thomas was at that age; it's not typical for a second-round 5'9 point guard to develop into a superstar at 28.

 It's a fact that be Jackson was better than Butler at age 20. That's what scouts do for a living.

 He is a much higher rated prospect that is further along in his development than Butler was.

  It remains to be seen who will end up being the better player the only point I'm making is Jackson was better at 20 years old.

You're missing the point. Obviously, Jackson is better than Butler at age 20. Butler developed at an extraordinarily unusual rate at an extraordinarily late age. I'll give you another parallel. Let's think of a current mid-twenties guard who appears to have hit his ceiling as a borderline All-Star. How about CJ McCollum? How likely do you think it is that CJ McCollum wins two MVPs and two titles within the next three years? Probably not very likely. That's because mid-twenties guards who appear to have hit their ceilings don't typically follow Stephen Curry's growth curve. Using extreme outliers as comparisons is pointless.

 Max. What are you talking about? It's very simple.

 Jackson is a better prospect than Jimmy Butler, he's a better prospect than Jaylen Brown was. He's even a better prospect than Kawaii Leonard was.

 It just means he is further along in the development stage than those other guys were, that's it.

 Leonard and Butler basically reach their ceilings which is impressive hats off to both of them. We have no idea if brown or Jackson will reach the ceiling but the point is is that Jackson is the most advanced out of all of them to this point.

Yes, Jackson is way ahead of both of those guys at the same age. The amount that those two developed is beyond unusual. Therefore, who cares if Jackson is ahead of those guys, as the rate at which those two developed is beyond unusual.

Let me ask you

If Jackson jump shot is shaky...can he still contribute on the offensive end?  Can he still score - alley hoops, backdoor layup, drive by slower defenders?

Can he still defend 1-3?  Would you feel confident having him switch/guard Butler then opposing team pgs?

What you sound like you are looking for is the "perfect" sf... Such player doesnt exist in this draft.  Such a pg, sg, c doesnt exist in this draft

[celticinorlando]

He does not shoot well enough to be a SF...he is too thin to be a PF. Boston needs scoring to take the load off IT. With a top 3 pick you need to get a guy that can score. Jackson is not that guy. He is Jaylon Brown with an even worse offensive game.

I watched him quite a bit at Kansas. His shot and outside offense did not improve. He is an awful FT shooter. So what he has a "great motor". He still needs to be able to score.

Imagine Smart, Brown and Jackson on the court together. Scoring would be very tough. Jackson limits your rotations because you cannot play him with Brown.

I am not sure he can guard 1-3. I do not want another high pick used on a guy that has a high motor and is a great athlete that one day could develop into a legit basketball player. They have one of those in Brown.

[Tr1boy]

He does not shoot well enough to be a SF...he is too thin to be a PF. Boston needs scoring to take the load off IT. With a top 3 pick you need to get a guy that can score. Jackson is not that guy. He is Jaylon Brown with an even worse offensive game.

I watched him quite a bit at Kansas. His shot and outside offense did not improve. He is an awful FT shooter. So what he has a "great motor". He still needs to be able to score.

Imagine Smart, Brown and Jackson on the court together. Scoring would be very tough. Jackson limits your rotations because you cannot play him with Brown.

You dont draft based on needs.... Not positional need nor scoring needs etc

Now if its very close you can add these critereas into the equation

It is too close to say if Tatum will be a better scorer. Their stats last season were pretty comparable across the board.  Except Jackson went to the FT line 40-50 more trips and Tatum had a higher FT shooting rate.

Defensively Jackson has the edge.