Kobe Bryant might have been slightly joking last week when he asked why the Los Angeles Lakers did not draft Jayson Tatum. Yet the comment caused a stir on social media after he was seen working out with the Celtics’ phenom.
It has to be tough for Los Angeles Lakers fans to see a Laker legend like Kobe Bryant passing on knowledge to a rival in Jayson Tatum instead of one of the members of the young Laker core. But after his spectacular rookie season and breakout playoff performance, Kobe’s question about not drafting him in 2017 is a fair one.
The actual quote came from Tatum’s trainer Drew Hanlen who told “The Sidelines with Evan Daniels,”
"“It was cool, we actually showed Kobe it yesterday and he was like ‘Why didn’t the Lakers draft him?’ Which was pretty funny after seeing that. But Jayson idolized Kobe.”"
This comment should be just seen as praise for Tatum rather than a jab at Lonzo Ball or any young player on the Lakers roster. Kobe is probably just paying a compliment to a player that admitted he modeled his game after him.
But is Kobe right?
It is still too soon to make the call that the Lakers got it wrong, drafting Lonzo Ball with the No. 2 pick over Tatum.
Ball might not have lived up to his lofty expectations in year one laid out by his father and Magic Johnson, but he played well enough to show he can be the Lakers point guard of the future. Everything about Ball’s game looked above average in year one, besides his jump shot, and that is something he can improve if his form becomes more consistent.
Even with his struggles shooting the ball, Ball still had a solid rookie season statistically. Ball finished with averages of 10.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 7.2 assists.
The only category that Tatum was better than Ball in was scoring with 13.9 and that was expected when heading into the draft. The Lakers didn’t draft Ball to be their number one scoring option. Since he was better than Tatum in almost every other category, their pick should not be so heavily criticized.
Ball and Tatum were both solid on defense throughout the season, but Ball was slightly better at his position.
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According to ESPN’s defensive real plus-minus, Ball ranked No. 3 overall among point guards with a positive score of plus-2.25 last season. Tatum was not far behind at him, finishing seventh for small forwards at plus 1.99, but he averaged fewer steals and blocks than Ball did.
Their decision to draft Ball also possibly came down to taking a position need instead of the best player available on the draft board. After dealing D’Angelo Russell last offseason, the Lakers had an obvious opening at the point guard spot and picked the best player available at that spot.
Their deepest position is definitely small forward and that was before they drafted rookie sensation Kyle Kuzma, who has a game that is similar to Tatum’s. Kuzma even averaged more points than Tatum did last season with 16.1 points per game as the Lakers leading scorer.
They likely would have chosen a player other than Kuzma if they drafted a scoring small forward with their first selection, causing them to miss out on one of the steals of the draft.
Kuzma and Ball looked like a dynamic duo last season, so the combination of them is equal or better to drafting Tatum. Especially since they played a big part in building the team chemistry last season, and can be future leaders of the franchise.
Another reason why Tatum was passed was that the Lakers already had Brandon Ingram. Their lottery pick from two years ago also plays the same position as him. Drafting a small forward from Duke in back to back drafts probably did not make much sense for the Lakers’ front office.
If they did make the pick, it probably would have stunted the growth of both players as a result. Ingram has the potential to be a star and the Lakers have been hesitant to trade him, so it is no wonder why they did not draft a player at his position.
The Lakers also landed LeBron James in free agency to add to the logjam at small forward. However, he can easily play other positions, and Tatum certainly would have been a better fit over Lonzo Ball playing with James earlier in his career. But LeBron wants to transition into less of a playmaker and ball handler in his new phase with the Lakers.
If that is the case Lonzo is a much better choice to play alongside an aging LeBron because he can get him the ball in the best positions to on the court to score. The Lakers did not know they were going to get LeBron when they made this pick, but they possibly ended up with a better recruiting pitch because James admired Ball’s style of play.
After the postseason, Tatum had made a case for himself as the most impactful rookie last year. So there is no wonder why there are some people questioning why the Lakers passed on him. However, the Lakers also picked two young stars of their own in 2017, so they should have no regrets.