I think Jackson should have been the #1 overall pick in the draft. I would have picked him at #3 and started starting him around January (if all was humming along fine). SF of the future for Celtics. PF in small ball lineups when he's gained some weight and muscle. I would then make whatever changes necessary to have 3 excellent shooters on the floor next to him as starters, to balance his less than ideal outside shot and to be targets of his excellent passing.
I think he'll be an alpha dog leader of whatever team he ends up on, and in that sense, he's less ideal for a Celtics team that wants to to keep improving without making major changes. The leader is Brad Stevens and the current Celtics team plays in that mold. In that sense Tatum is a good fit, along with his shooting. IMO Tatum will really have to become a very good 3 point shooter in order to make us forget about Jackson (and Fultz). I realize he's a great iso scorer but in the Celts system he's really got to hit a lot from 3 (opposite of how I feel about Jackson, who will be more of a 6'8 Rondo-Smart Hybrid with great leadership, passing, finishing and defense). To re-state, Tatum can still be good to great without a great 3 pointer, but to surpass Jackson/Fultz I think he'll need to hit a lot of 3's.
Jackson praised aside, Jayson Tatum is an easy guy to root for. Looks like an awesome guy all around. Will be brought along as fast or slow as necessary. Will play within the what the Celtics do in their system while adding another source of offense via iso at the end of games. Look forward to seeing him develop and eventually become an all-star in a few years.
