Off-day Sacrilegious Poll: Who would you trade Tatum for?

Which NBA star(s) would you trade Jayson Tatum for?


  • Total voters
    242

nolasoxfan

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What's the argument for Jokic's game falling off a cliff? He rarely gets hurt, he's pretty young, he has gotten in better and better shape over the years, and he doesn't rely on jumping....at all, ever. Obviously the ridiculous shooting touch isn't going anywhere.

I'd be surprised if he isn't really good for long time.
There isn’t an argument. It was a question: “does a BIG guy’s game fall off a cliff faster?” And enough of a question that I listed it as a consideration.

edit: I forgot the ‘?’ in my original post.
 

McBride11

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How does GA have 60% and Joker 80%? Was there a multi vote option?

Regardless I only said Joker, and that really is if I HAD to choose. I don't think Tatum has peaked. Joker is amazing but can see the back 9 in the distance (long distance, 29 in Feb 2024). I think he will age well given his game IQ and passing. But I still think Tatum is on the rise. Once he learns consistency, watch out.

And who the hell said Embiid??
 

bankshot1

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Joker is the short list of maybes.

Probably the best player in the game and makes his guys better.

But Bigs don't age all that well. And Tatum is younger and lankier and should mature into a better player and hopefully a more forceful team leader.
 

InstaFace

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Fine: if you wish to vote for "nobody", please check the Other option going forward. If need be, anyone can edit their vote.

One thing's for sure, I way overestimated the love Steph Curry would get. I wonder if his numbers would be much different had we asked this 11 months ago.
 

Euclis20

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Curious what percent of MIL and DEN fans would trade Giannis or Jokic for Tatum.

I would guess each would be under 10%
Likely true, but it's a different question for them. Giannis and Jokic are still both in their prime, and are (or will be) undoubtedly the best player in each team's history. Giannis won the Bucks' first title in 50 years, and Jokic just brought his team to their first ever finals (and likely to complete the trip in a few weeks). They mean so much more to their respective franchises than Tatum could possibly ever mean to the Celtics. Tatum's ceiling is as Boston's best player of the last 30 years and potentially bringing Boston its first title in 15 years. That's nice, but it's just not on the same level as Jokic/Giannis.

I'd be more curious to know what percentage of Philly and Dallas fans would trade Embiid and Luka for Tatum.
 

nighthob

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I get that, and it's fair. The counter is that he's played with a garbage roster essentially his whole career and still taken a team to the conference finals so if you put him on a roster like Celtics or even Bucks you're looking at something pretty different rate-wise.

His defense is bad; however, he has some ability to defend when he cares to (and size) so it's just a guess he would do better if the team were better.

I totally get all the concerns on him; I have told friends Tatum is only 'young' guy in league I beleive might surpass Doncic and totally get why many feel he already has.
Doncic is marginally better than Tatum, on the offensive end. And comes with a Pacific sized chasm between them on the defensive end. Tatum is better.
 

JakeRae

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Jokic and Giannis are the only ones I even need to think about, but I didn’t answer because the answer is no one. I don’t just root for laundry, I root for players too. Tatum is close enough to both Jokic and Giannis that it’s not hard to just say no. Also, I think the odds of an acquisition opting out at some point, or demanding a trade, are much higher than Tatum doing it. Once you jump teams once it’s easier and has less legacy risk to do it again. Finally, I think Tatum will likely close some or all of the gap with both in the next couple years, and will age the best of this group while also being the youngest.
 

Cellar-Door

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Jokic I would do, Giannis I would strongly consider

Edit- also beyond thinking Tatum is clearly a better player than Luka... I wouldn't want to have to watch him, some of the least attractive basketball you can watch, super slow pace, 100 dribbles, flail for a foul, like Harden but without working into shape mid-season.
 

Ale Xander

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Jokic for sure. Giannis too because his whistle is much better then Tatum’s

could be talked into Luka but Tatum is so much Better defensively
 

osori

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Jokic I would do it in a heartbeat. Giannis I'll have to think. Rest I wouldn't even consider.
 

Ed Hillel

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Jokic, Wemba, and quite possibly Morant if he wasn't such a psycho. That would be it.
 

scottyno

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I think Wemby would be a viable option if you were looking at things in a vacuum, as in if every player became a free agent today and every team redrafted Wemby might go ahead of Tatum. Or maybe if you could ask every team in the league would you rather add Tatum or Wemby more might take Wemby. But the Celtics are in a position right now with Tatum where there's no reason they shouldn't be one of the best teams in the league every year for the next 5 years or so minimum, and I can't see trading that for the hope of a 19 year old who has never played an NBA game.
 

jose melendez

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Wemby, even if he's as good as adverised, scares the shit out of me. How many guys 7'5'' have had a long run and been good? Yao's kind of the only one. and he played under 500 games. Three hall of famers 7'3'''and up-Sampson, Sabonis and Yao.
 

BaseballJones

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Joker is the short list of maybes.

Probably the best player in the game and makes his guys better.

But Bigs don't age all that well. And Tatum is younger and lankier and should mature into a better player and hopefully a more forceful team leader.
I don’t see any reason (barring some sort of injury) why Jokic’s game should not age well. He already moves slowly and plays very much an old man game. And in the post, he bullies people and that’s not going to stop happening as he hits his 30s. His game is well suited to age well. He should be a great player for a very long time still.
 

Euclis20

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Wemby, even if he's as good as adverised, scares the shit out of me. How many guys 7'5'' have had a long run and been good? Yao's kind of the only one. and he played under 500 games. Three hall of famers 7'3'''and up-Sampson, Sabonis and Yao.
Agreed. It's odd to say about an NBA player, but I'd feel better about his future prospects if he were 3-4 inches shorter.
 

jose melendez

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I don’t see any reason (barring some sort of injury) why Jokic’s game should not age well. He already moves slowly and plays very much an old man game. And in the post, he bullies people and that’s not going to stop happening as he hits his 30s. His game is well suited to age well. He should be a great player for a very long time still.
Completely agree.
 

bankshot1

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I don’t see any reason (barring some sort of injury) why Jokic’s game should not age well. He already moves slowly and plays very much an old man game. And in the post, he bullies people and that’s not going to stop happening as he hits his 30s. His game is well suited to age well. He should be a great player for a very long time still.
You may be right. But playing against Father Time generally ends the same way.
 

Cellar-Door

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You may be right. But playing against Father Time generally ends the same way.
I mean... yes every player eventually ages out Jokic will be 28 for almost all of next season and is not athleticism dependent, it would be pretty crazy to base your decision about him vs. Tatum on something like 8 years from now.
 

lars10

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I don’t see any reason (barring some sort of injury) why Jokic’s game should not age well. He already moves slowly and plays very much an old man game. And in the post, he bullies people and that’s not going to stop happening as he hits his 30s. His game is well suited to age well. He should be a great player for a very long time still.
How many big men age well? Even without jumping it feels like bigs have issues with ankles and feet just due to their size.
 

bankshot1

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I mean... yes every player eventually ages out Jokic will be 28 for almost all of next season and is not athleticism dependent, it would be pretty crazy to base your decision about him vs. Tatum on something like 8 years from now.
Tatum's 3 years younger today and as best as I can tell will always be 3 years younger than Jokic and IMO has a game that still has upside. As noted in my post, Jokic is the only player I would consider trading Tatum for. That I have reservations that you seemed to think isnt relevant is hardly crazy, just a different perspective I think is important when considering a transaction valued in the hundreds of millions and which could be franchise altering.

YMMV
 

Cellar-Door

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Tatum's 3 years younger today and as best as I can tell will always be 3 years younger than Jokic and IMO has a game that still has upside. As noted in my post, Jokic is the only player I would consider trading Tatum for. That I have a reservations that you seemed to think isnt relevant is hardly crazy, just a different perspective I think is important when considering a transaction valued in the hundreds of millions and could be franchise altering.

YMMV
I was more responding to the idea that age was a concern, I don't see that, I can see if you think bigs are simply more injury prone, but given player movement, you really don't think about players in anything longer than 4-5 year windows.
 

the moops

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Likely true, but it's a different question for them. Giannis and Jokic are still both in their prime, and are (or will be) undoubtedly the best player in each team's history. Giannis won the Bucks' first title in 50 years, and Jokic just brought his team to their first ever finals (and likely to complete the trip in a few weeks). They mean so much more to their respective franchises than Tatum could possibly ever mean to the Celtics. Tatum's ceiling is as Boston's best player of the last 30 years and potentially bringing Boston its first title in 15 years. That's nice, but it's just not on the same level as Jokic/Giannis.
Maybe, but there is a whole lot of "my team, my guy" stuff going on with Tatum, that would also go on with those guys.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Jokic was my only choice.

However I don't think I could actually pull the trigger because I find Tatum's entire game to be one of my favorites in the NBA, flaws and all. When he is cooking its must-see. And his defense can be equally electrifying too. Add in the potential upside to his repertoire and I don't think I can do it.

Pragmatic I am not. I just really like Jayson Tatum.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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I'm surprised about all the votes for Giannis TBH. With his < 30% three point accuracy and < 70% FT accuracy, I just don't see his peak of the prototypical "bull in a china shop running back" lasting a long time. And he already has 9 years 3 years on Tatum. It is true that his body size and friendly whistle will serve Giannis well, but his style of play also limits whom you can pair with him as the 2nd and 3rd spokes. I worry about lower body injuries causing even more games missed entering his 30s.
 

InstaFace

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Wemby, even if he's as good as adverised, scares the shit out of me. How many guys 7'5'' have had a long run and been good? Yao's kind of the only one. and he played under 500 games. Three hall of famers 7'3'''and up-Sampson, Sabonis and Yao.
I think the "...and been good" is a canard. There are very few people, even very few NBA players, who are 7'3"+. What was the stat, if you're born 7 feet tall you have a 1 in 6 chance of playing in the NBA? Not even the NBA has enough of a sample of them to give us a sense of whether that height creates greatness, hinders it, or has no effect. The number of great players who were 6'10 - 7'0" is still only a small fraction of the number of people of that height who played in the NBA or attempted to have a career. There's just a lot more of them, relatively speaking.

Kareem was 7'2", same as Wembanyama. As was Mutombo, and Artis Gilmore, and so on. I wouldn't dismiss him too far out of hand.

The good:
- Shawn Bradley is 7'6" and played 832 games over 14 seasons, never under 49 games in a season.
- The 7'3" elder Sabonis, as you noted, played 6 real seasons / 470 games in the NBA, but started at age 31, having already played 9 pro seasons (3 in Lithuania, 6 in Spain). That's holding up decently well.
- Porzingis, 7'3", has logged 7 seasons plus an eight lost to an ACL. 402 games in those 7 healthy seasons (avg 57 / year), not great but not terrible, and he's only 27. And he was at least an all-star in 2018.
- Randy Breuer was 7'3", played 11 seasons, the first 9 you'd call "full" seasons. Of which 5 he played > 19 mins per game, but was never really a scorer.
- Mark Eaton was 7'4", played 11 seasons for Utah, ages 26-36, and only the last under 79 games (!), with a career average of 28.8 MPG. So tremendously durable, useful enough to play starter minutes, and was 2-time DPOY. Couldn't score, but that's a fine career.
- The 7'4" Rik Smits was perhaps the best 7'3"+ scorer in NBA history, 12 seasons for Indy, very durable, starters minutes. Career FG% over .500 on some pretty good volume, career 14.8 points / game, FT% of .773. Made an all-star game in 1998.
- Zydrunas Ilgauskas is 7'3", missed basically 3.5 seasons early in his career with foot injuries... and then from ages 26-35, never played below 62 games in a season, always on starters' minutes. Two-time all-star.

Then on the flip side:
- Gheorghe Muresan is 7'7" and played only 6 seasons / 307 games, and was only marginally effective in those
- Manute Bol, at 7'7", the tallest person to ever play in the NBA, played 8 real seasons up through age 30, never logging below 71 games until the last of those 8, and then 2 partial ones plus a season in Italy. His career minutes-per-game was 18.7 though, partly because he couldn't hit free throws, couldn't pass and couldn't score. But he blocked like a mofo those first 4 seasons.
- The 7'3" Boban Marjanovic has just completed his 8th season (on his 6th team), having entered the league at age 27 and now being 34. He... has never really been healthy. Under 40 games per season career.
- Primoz Brezec, 7'3", got in 8 full seasons plus two abroad, but only 2 were good-to-great seasons and 2 others even useful, was done at 30.
- Tacko Fall is 7'6" and got into 39 NBA games. We all know his deal.
- Slavko Vranec, also 7'6, had a 21-year pro basketball career (!), but only 1 was in the NBA. After being a Knicks 2nd-round pick in 2003, he was waived 7 months later, and managed to play 3 minutes in 1 game for Portland on a 10-day contract. Same with the 7'5" Sim Bhullar (3 minutes in 3 games in April 2015)
- Hasheem Thabeet, 7'3", drafted 2nd overall, was out of the NBA after 5 seasons, 224 games (20 started), at 10.5 MPG. He just couldn't do anything well enough to have him on the floor.
- Chuck Nevitt, at 7'5", played parts of 9 seasons, but BRef notes his nickname was "human victory cigar", and for good reason: 155 games played, at 5.3 minutes per game.
 

PRabbit

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There's not a single one player I'd trade a 6'10 wing, an elite 2 way wing at that, who is about to enter his prime, for in the league right now.

There's a few trades I'd make that are two-for-ones, like Tatum+ for Mobley AND Garland or KAT AND Edwards, but no one single player.
 

benhogan

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Nobody, but I checked "Other"

Tatum still has physical growth ahead of him. He's getting better every year. Once he spends a summer with Hanlan on his 3pt stroke & becomes a 40% shooter (again) he will be hands down the best player in the NBA.

Joker and Giannis are the contenders & wouldn't argue with either. A case could be made.

Luka is not committed to D or getting into peak shape. Hard pass.
 

m0ckduck

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It's funny that there hasn't been a peep about the reigning MVP in this discussion.

I wonder if we ran this exercise back the other way, how many teams would refuse to trade their star player for Tatum right now? I think the list would be surprisingly high. Of the names above (not including the "Other" box), I could see all teams outside of OKC and LAL refusing to swap, for various reasons.

Booker belongs on the main ballot and not in the "Other" category. He has more trade value than most of the guys there.

I'd go:
1. Jokic
2. Tatum and Giannis in some order, depending on how much you're in GFIN mode
3. Booker (similar age and offensive output to Tatum; not as well-rounded but just came off a pretty awesome postseason run).
4. Wemby (too many unknowns, too much downside risk to be higher than 4 now)
5. Doncic (could still theoretically be the best player on this list in a few years if he commits to playing league-average defense)
6. SGA
7. Embiid (fragile, conditioning, etc)
8. The awesome-but-old-or-super-fragile-guys: Steph, AD, Butler and Lebron, probably in that order.
 
Last edited:

Jimbodandy

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This is the top-25 in the "Current Player Skill Projections" in DARKO (alphabetically, so as not to sidetrack with a rankings conversation):
====Antetekounmpo, Booker, Brown, Brunson, Butler, Curry, Davis, Doncic, Durant, Edwards, Embiid, George, Harden, Holiday, James, Jokic, Leonard, Lillard, Mitchell, Porzingis, Tatum, Towns, VanVleet, Williams.

Obviously some of those guys aren't as valuable in a "would you trade for" scenario for reasons: always hurt, super old, etc.

Here's the list of guys who are bad defenders (DDPM < -.5): Lillard, Doncic, Booker, Brunson.
Here are the guys who are super plus defenders (DDPM > 2): Jokic, Embiid, Antetekounmpo, Davis, Williams.

If I'm Brad, I'm probably avoiding the guys on list 1 and considering the guys on list 2...except the ones that are hurt all of the time. So that leaves Jokic and Antetekounmpo. Tatum's not elite defensively, but he's above average and still growing as a player. It would take a lot for me to consider moving him for anyone who's not elite at both ends.
 

Marciano490

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@InstaFace can we get an option for “no one”?
Just submit an empty ballot. That's a valid answer. Some people have already done so.
Doesn't work for me either.
I guess I don't know what I'm talking about.

Oh well. Consider your nullification of this question duly recorded, sir.
Well, to the extent the poll was to verify your claims about what trades most people here would make, not having a “nobody” option skews the results.
Yes. That, plus not allowing people to see the results without voting.
Fine: if you wish to vote for "nobody", please check the Other option going forward. If need be, anyone can edit their vote.

One thing's for sure, I way overestimated the love Steph Curry would get. I wonder if his numbers would be much different had we asked this 11 months ago.
Was anyone able to submit an empty ballot (maybe you need a laptop or a Mac?).

Would be odd to rig a poll and then lie(?) about it just to try to prove a pet theory.
 

RIrooter09

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I wouldn't trade him for anyone. But if I had to, it would be Joker, Embiid, Giannis and maybe Luka. Joker is so insanely talented and makes everyone around him better. He can play with anyone. Embiid is so physically gifted on both ends of the floor that no one can really match up with him 1 on 1. Giannis is similar to Embiid in that his physical talents make matching up with him 1 on 1 impossible. And Luka's offensive talent is so much fun to watch, even if he's a liability on the defensive end (something they could hide if he played with Smart, White or Brogdon).

But considering his age, offensive and defensive ability and the fact that he's a Celtic, just give me Tatum.
I'm pretty much in agreement. Jokic, Embiid, Giannis. No Luka because of his defense.
 

m0ckduck

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I'm pretty much in agreement. Jokic, Embiid, Giannis. No Luka because of his defense.
I don't get the inclusion of Embiid. It all looks great in the abstract, but the dude has never made it out of the second round because he's always hurt and/or completely gassed in the postseason. Plus, there's no way someone that large ages well. I'd rather roll the dice on a (much younger) Luka discovering defense than on Embiid discovering durability and conditioning (not that I'd trade Tatum for either one).
 

BaseballJones

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Embiid right now is something Tatum has never been: a league MVP. Now, I don't think Embiid deserved it this year (Jokic did), but it is what it is. Tatum has never been an MVP. Not to say he never will be, but he hasn't been so far.

But I fully agree with folks here in that I wouldn't trade Tatum for Embiid. I do think awesome bigs are more rare than awesome wings. And in NBA past, I'd definitely have a different view of this. But this is today's NBA, and for a lot of reasons, I'd keep Tatum over Embiid.

Jokic is different. He's better than Embiid.

But even him....man it would be hard. But yes, probably him.

Giannis is a guy I'd strongly consider. He doesn't have all of Tatum's skills, but he's a 2x MVP, he's won a title, he's virtually unstoppable, and he is awesome on both ends of the floor. He's also only 28 years of age, so he's not in his 30s yet. Plenty of great years left.

That's it. That's the list. Jokic (80% yes) and Giannis (70% yes). Nobody else.
 

Cellar-Door

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Embiid right now is something Tatum has never been: a league MVP. Now, I don't think Embiid deserved it this year (Jokic did), but it is what it is. Tatum has never been an MVP. Not to say he never will be, but he hasn't been so far.

But I fully agree with folks here in that I wouldn't trade Tatum for Embiid. I do think awesome bigs are more rare than awesome wings. And in NBA past, I'd definitely have a different view of this. But this is today's NBA, and for a lot of reasons, I'd keep Tatum over Embiid.

Jokic is different. He's better than Embiid.

But even him....man it would be hard. But yes, probably him.

Giannis is a guy I'd strongly consider. He doesn't have all of Tatum's skills, but he's a 2x MVP, he's won a title, he's virtually unstoppable, and he is awesome on both ends of the floor. He's also only 28 years of age, so he's not in his 30s yet. Plenty of great years left.

That's it. That's the list. Jokic (80% yes) and Giannis (70% yes). Nobody else.
I don't put much stock in regular season awards when you're talking no doubt All-NBA type guys. Like in 2001, would you have traded Tim Duncan for Allen Iverson? Duncan had never won one, Iverson was reigning MVP.... Dwayne Wade or Derrick Rose? Prime Shaq (1998/99) or David Robinson, etc. etc. Not many guys win MVP young, and more importantly MVP can be heavily scoring based, which favors regular season scorers whose team funnels them the ball in ways that may not work in the playoffs.
 

lars10

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I don't want to trade him for anyone. I want to see him in his 25-30 years in Celtic Green. I also want Jaylen to stay here too. They can be frustrating but man are they fun to watch when they're on.. and Tatum said he loves playing in front of the Boston crowd.. that's not something everyone enjoys or responds well to. Let him play his whole career for one team like many of the other Celt greats.

edit: I also like Jokers game.. but I think Tatum will be even better next year..and the year after that.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Jokic I would do, Giannis I would strongly consider

Edit- also beyond thinking Tatum is clearly a better player than Luka... I wouldn't want to have to watch him, some of the least attractive basketball you can watch, super slow pace, 100 dribbles, flail for a foul, like Harden but without working into shape mid-season.
I was on the fence with Giannis because of his unpolished offensive game and amazing defensive talent. Jokic is the only player I could bring myself to pick.

Picking Embiid (conditioning/age) or Luka (defense, off ball play) seems nuts to me.
 

lovegtm

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The Embiid thing is insane to me, and I think people are just trying to be impartial, but wouldn't pull the trigger when given the choice.

Embiid has *never* put in a game to take his team out of the 2nd round, and he's had plenty of chances. Conditioning, mental softness, injuries....it's always something.

He's 30 next playoffs; he is who he is.

In baseball, when your shit doesn't work in the playoffs, it's a funny random thing. In basketball, when your shit doesn't work in the playoffs, it's because you're not as good as other guys.
 

SteveF

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Jokic and Doncic are it for me. Jokic has been covered. Doncic gives your offense a high floor in the playoffs, something I suspect will become increasingly important -- especially when you get it from a single max player -- moving forward.

My guess is the de facto hard cap is going to increase the viability of heliocentric offenses. Building around a single max player who can drive efficient offense will become a more effective roster construction strategy.
 

nighthob

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Still a hard pass on Doncic. He's still a defense destroyer. He's a defensively impaired James Harden. Right down to the conditioning.