but will he ever be better than Jimmy Butler?
not in a million years...
You exaggerate how good Jimmy Butler is. Tatum certainly had the chance to be better. He's bigger and more athletic.
Wake me up when he plays defense, loses his tunnel vision, and doesn't settle for long twos just to get a shot off when he faces a good defender.
Useless without the ball in his hands, not good enough to be a #1 option. Might work out if he had gone to a terrible team which just gives him the ball and let him do his thing, won't work on this Celtics team.
The worst part is, he will have a few glimpses here and there, and people will flood this forum saying "See, the future is bright". Perfect trap pick.
I loved Tatum when I first saw him play. So much talent. So skilled and versatile. A scorer like Jabari Parker but unlike Jabari, Tatum was actually (physically & athletically) capable of defending his position (SF).
The more I saw of him. The less interested I became. Like Casperian above, I got fed up with parts of Tatum's game. His offensive game in particular. Settling for shots. Over-use and reliance on isolation game. Or else contested long jump-shots. Despite having a capable handle and passing ability, rarely made much effort to involve his teammates. Regularly made bad decisions on offense.
The defense I was less concerned by. Most 18-19 year olds don't play much defense. I saw enough flashes there that if the effort is made, the defense will be alright (middle of the pack alright). The offense is more by area of concern ... because Tatum is so talented but routinely makes bad decisions. Looks like your typical isolation-only scorer. The type of guy who doesn't do much for his teammates and is only after his numbers. Like Rudy Gay or Melo (late in his career).
I thought Tatum should have improved his team more. That he failed to do so and did not impact winning enough. His mentality - his effort, focus - was poor in all areas of the game (offense, defense, rebounding). Too inconsistent. A guy who could be a major difference maker but coasts for 30-40% of the game instead.
So yeah, I am not overjoyed at Tatum's selection either.
My one hope that I am holding onto is whether the right coach can get through to Tatum and get him to improve his mental approach to the game and make better team-orientated decisions on offense. If some coach can do that, then yes, I think Tatum can be an excellent pro. Without that though, I think Tatum will flatter to deceive (good numbers, doesn't impact winning). Big test for Brad Stevens. Whether CBS can really develop Tatum and help Tatum fulfill his potential because I don't think Tatum gets there without a big influence from someone.