Celtics
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Jayson Tatum is reportedly focused on bidding for a WNBA expansion team in St. Louis
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Jayson Tatum reacts to Grant Williams incident
During a recent episode of the Club 520 podcast, Jayson Tatum told a former Celtics teammate Jeff Teague that he almost requested a trade during his rookie season.
Despite being drafted No. 3 overall, Tatum had playing time concerns.
Boston had signed Gordon Hayward to a four-year contract value as much as $128 million. Hayward played for then-coach Brad Stevens at Butler and played small forward, the identical position as Tatum.
The Celtics had chosen one other winger, Jaylen Brown, with the No. 3 overall pick the 12 months before.
“And then I get drafted and Gordon Hayward signs with the Celtics,” Tatum said. “I called my agent and said, 'Yo, I need to be traded.'” I used to be in Summer League before I ever played a game like yo. He says, 'Relax.' Just wait.' He's mainly saying, “You need to relax.”
“Yo, I’m trying to play,” Tatum added. “I wasn’t drafted to come back off the bench and never be within the starting lineup. He said, 'You're in a fantastic organization, they're going to show you the way to play the proper way.'”
Eight years later, Tatum has just won his first championship with the Celtics. He signed a five-year, $314 “supermax” contract extension that keeps him under contract through 2029, with a player option for the 2030 season.
Tatum said his time with the Celtics went well. He also reflected on his original desire to play for the Lakers, who never invited him to pre-draft training.
“I grew up a Kobe fan,” Tatum said. “I always wanted to play for the Lakers. The fact that they were No. 2 and it was like they didn't even think that I was going to get drafted, that was kind of devastating, so I never worked out for the Lakers. They never came to watch me train.”
The Lakers were determined to get Lonzo Ball, who played at nearby UCLA and Chino Hills. After the Lakers made their decision, Tatum set his sights on the Phoenix Suns.
“I wanted to go to Phoenix. Phoenix had the fourth pick and Earl Watson was the coach. I went out there, looked at houses, the weather was nice. They had a young team. I was like, man, I'm going to play. Then I remember Coach [Mike Krzyzewski] was like 'Boston wants you for a second practice, you should go.'”
Tatum said an unnamed Celtics manager told him at a previous practice that they probably wouldn't sign him. They later decided to invite Tatum to another training session. Krzyzewski persuaded Tatum to attend, saying Stevens was one of the best coaches in the league.
Boston ultimately gave up the No. 1 overall pick to Philadelphia. The 76ers took Markelle Fultz, the Lakers took Ball and Boston used the No. 3 pick to get Tatum.
“The rest was history and everything worked out,” Tatum said.
image credit : www.boston.com