Well if we could walk away from this draft with Tatum, I'd be a happy man. His three point shot has really improved since the season began. He defends, he can put the ball on the floor, and he rebounds. Tatum has star potential. Doesn't mean he'll be one, but he has all the tools. And he has an NBA body.
The way things are going right now there is a real shot of us being in prime position to take Tatum. I'm assuming that we bottom out between out with the 8th-9th pick in the draft. The teams that will most likely finish beneath us are the Nets (Celtics), Suns, Lakers, Magic, 76ers, Wolves, Mavs, and possibly the Knicks Barring any major changes, the top 3 of Fultz, Ball, and Jackson seem set in stone based on all the mock drafts. After that it is more of a crap shoot, but if every team ahead of us drafts for need/best fit then I see it playing out something like this:
4) Magic - Will either go PG or SF. Dennis Smith seems like the best player available, but I could see them considering Isaac or Tatum. Smith right now has all of the tools necessary to be a game changer at the position and with the importance on the position in today's game I could see them deciding to start there.
5) 76ers - Malik Monk. Monk is going to be the pick for the 6ers. They need help at both guard positions, but Ben Simmons has way better court vision/passing ability than both Smith or Fox so they won't prioritize either. This is a shoe in.
6) Wolves- This is the pick that I see getting traded. The Wolves have everything they need except a defensive presence in the middle. I could see them swapping down for picks and nabbing Robert Williams. But if they keep the pick they will most likely go BPA which is Jonathan Isaac.
7) Mavs- DeAron Fox. Like the 76ers, this is a no brainer. Yogi Ferrell has looked good, but his upside is pretty limited. Outside of him their options are Devin Harris or JJ Barea. He'll be a Mav if he's there.
8) Kings - Tatum. No question. He 100% SHOULD be our pick. But knowing Vlade, there is a chance we could completely botch this and take Isaiah Hartenstein from Germany. Hopefully Vlade has learned his lesson from the constant backlash and finally decides to make a smart and safe move and take the BPA and Best fit player which is Tatum .
8) Knicks - Tough call. This team needs everything besides a PF. I could see them avoiding a SF if Anthony is still on the roster. I could see Jackson taking that French PG because of how he already struck gold overseas with Porzingis, but I Tatum would be a strong option as well.