I know everyone has been focusing on the race between Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons for Rookie of the Year. However, as I've been saying all season long, Jayson Tatum is going to end being the best player long term. He is an excellent scorer, rebounder, and defender. The complete package. Celtics won the draft.
Except rookie* Ben Simmons wasn’t taken in this draft, unless you’re referring to Fultz (in which case, the jury is still out).
LOL everyone knows the Celtics won the draft, they got the guy they were going to get anyway + a free first round pick from Philly who are two injuries away from being horrible again . They even saved some money for cap since they are paying Tatum 3rd pick money vs first pick money. I don't agree with you Tatum is gonna be the best long term though it depends if Simmons develops a jumper and if Mitchell continues to improve his game. Those 2 are the u Undisputed alphas of their team as rookies, Tatum is still deferring to Irving.
Celtics won this year's draft in spades. For Sixers fans to watch Tatum dominate their team while Fultz hasn't played a single minute in the series has to be maddening. IMO, Tatum has clearly shown himself to be the most exciting prospect in the draft. We'll see how things play out long term. Tatum played 80/82 regular season games and averaged over 30 mpg. In their last 5 playoff games, he's increased that to 37 mpg and scored over 20 each time. I doubted him at Duke, before the draft and even after summer league because I didn't think what he did would translate against real NBA competition. The crow is actually tasty because I've enjoyed watching him and the Celtics all season.
I wouldn't put much stock in the whole "alpha player" debate. Look at Durant. He's the ultimate beta, yet he's twice the player than alpha Westbrook. Tatum was drafted to a team that traded for a superstar in the same offseason. It was never going to be his team from the opening gate. Plus, Brad Stevens doesn't run his team like that. He has everyone playing to their best talents and fit a role. Tatum will be the better player overall from this draft class.
Really? I think being an alpha is important, KD left his previous team precisely because he was a beta, he couldn't handle making things work with Westbrick. From the perspective of OKC, having an alpha like Westbrick was more valuable since he would stay and help the team win rather than to latch on to a different contender. Plus you are forgetting that KD left to go to GSW who had their own alphas in Curry and Green. If GSW didn't have alphas would KD go there? Maybe he would have gone to Cleveland instead. Imagine if Harden was a beta, he would have cried in Houston the moment he was traded and start plotting his exit plan cuz his team sucked. Then after the disaster in HnH, he would have publicly demanded a trade since MDA was seen as a joke after his fiasco in NYC.
Imagine being a Nets fan. They could have had these talented youngsters on their team. Instead they get to watch Airemy Lin lol...
Since being an "alpha" is so important, how many GMs would rather have "beta" KD vs. "alpha" WB on their team? Probably 29 or all 30. Are you among the precious few that blame KD for leaving WB behind? (Where he went is the actual debatable point). If you had a clue how much their relationship deteriorated his final two seasons, you wouldn't blame him either. WB hated that KD was the alpha of the team. His jealousy during the final season is what broke the camel's back. WB will never allow another "alpha" to exist on the Thunder as long as he's there, including the coach. Question: Do you think Billy Donovan told WB to blanket Rubio all of game 4 to the detriment of the team? No, it's was selfish, "alpha" WB doing his own thing. The guy might be the most selfish NBA player, ever. If you haven't figured that out yet, oh well.
I think there will not be enough touches for those guys - Jaylen and Rozier seem to develop into stars in their own rights......Boston just cannot keep everyone happy with Kyrie and Hayward coming back.
Who is better Alpha KD or Beta KD? Alpha Westbrick or Beta Westbrick? You are comparing different players to say whether an alpha is good or not how is that a good comparison? Hey white players are better than black players cuz Larry Bird is better than Smush Parker! Being 5'5 is better than 7 feet cuz Isiah Thomas is better than Manute Bol! Alpha or not, KD is just superior to Westbrick so what does them being alpha or beta have to do with KD being better? Newsflash: You can still be an alpha and not be a hotheaded dumbass. Lebron is an alpha how many GMs would take Alpha Lebron over Beta KD? 30 out of 30 GMs I bet. There is no correlation being an alpha and being selfish, Harden, Simmons, Lebron, Steve Nash, Curry the list goes on of the best playmakers being alphas. Magic Johnson was an alpha, he even played center just to lead his team to victory and people say he was the most unselfish player ever. Westbrick being selfish is his personality rather than him being alpha. Alphas are needed on a team, you can't win a ring if you don't have an alpha. Look at Raptors, they have more talent than Cavs do but Lebron is owning them by himself. How is that happening? Obviously Raps don't have an alpha who can go toe to toe with Lebron.
