How Kevin Durant could help Jayson Tatum thrive

If you happen to’re a Boston Celtics fan, your world might be in a tailspin proper now. That’s what occurs when credible rumors floor about doubtlessly buying and selling for a famous person — particularly when it additionally means shedding two of your workforce’s finest gamers.

Everybody may have their very own emotions on whether or not the Celtics ought to, or mustn’t make this deal, and I’m not right here to persuade you a technique or one other. Nevertheless, I’m interested by what Kevin Durant’s arrival might imply for Jayson Tatum.

Indulge me slightly bit right here.

There’s no query that Tatum has advanced as a participant during the last twelve months, particularly in how he orchestrates an offense and units the desk for his teammates. We’ve additionally seen the St. Louis native embrace a extra bodily model of basketball, and at last, start to make the most of his ever-growing body to dislodge defenders. Tatum is growing a imply streak.

But, regardless of his ever-growing management of the sport, and poise on the ball, there are occasions when the protection overloads on Tatum, generally to their detriment contemplating Jaylen Brown’s scoring capability. However, as we all know, groups will do something to get the ball out of the star participant’s fingers.

That wouldn’t occur with Durant on the courtroom, although.

Odds are, even when Durant joins the Celtics, Tatum will nonetheless be the first ball-handler in half-court conditions, or no less than, he’ll share the accountability with KD. He’s improved an excessive amount of to take the ball out of his fingers now.

Photograph by Elsa/Getty Photos

So, opposing defenses are going to search out themselves in a troublesome spot since you don’t assist off a future first-ballot Corridor of Famer, no matter who has the rock. You don’t hedge your bets that Tatum doesn’t make the go, or spot the rotation, not when the recipient is Durant.

As such, it’s protected to imagine that Tatum shall be seeing way more daylight on this state of affairs, particularly on the perimeter, earlier than his drive has pressured a defensive collapse. Much less, defensive strain means extra time to make the precise learn, or discover the precise spot. And most significantly, much less probability of getting sped up.

On the flip aspect, Durant’s scoring gravity will guarantee Tatum all the time has room to function off-ball, be it as a cutter, screener, popper, and even roll-man. You see, Durant’s arrival would change Boston’s offense from egalitarian to heliocentrism with each Tatum and Durant taking turns to be the solar round which all the things else revolves.

Out of the blue, Tatum is not the clear-cut main offensive choice, however as an alternative, would assume Brown’s function because the supporting star – permitting his decision-making to be extra pure, reasonably than forcing issues when the protection bogs down Boston’s rhythm. There’s much less strain to ‘go get a bucket’ or ‘pressure the protection right into a mistake’ — that may be Durant’s job, one thing which he thrives on.

Past merely lowering the quantity of defensive strain on Tatum, Durant’s arrival would additionally profit the younger star from a developmental standpoint, too. We’ve all heard the tales from Group USA’s gold medal run on the Olympics final season, about how Durant was encouraging Tatum to be the perfect model of himself, and belief in his talents.

For years, Tatum and Brown have constructed one another up, by encouragement and fierce competitors. However neither of them boasts the resume that Durant does, so when he empowers you, it should really feel liberating.

“I bear in mind being on the market in Vegas, the primary day we scrimmaged. And I bear in mind we performed the Choose Group. Kicked our a** the primary day. We was off form. However I bear in mind coming down on the wing, any individual kicked me the ball, and on the Celtics, I might have shot it. And it was like midway I coulda shot it. I simply do not forget that KD was to the precise of me I handed it to him. I remembered he received mad at me. He was like ‘Yo, don’t take a look at me. Be your self, I would like you to kill. And I used to be like ‘rattling.’ That was the primary time I used to be like ‘he need me to hoop, too.’ Don’t take a look at it like that’s KD, we on the identical workforce — like, he want me to do me on this workforce,” Tatum stated throughout an interview on The Draymond Inexperienced Present.

Are you able to think about a Tatum that has been unleashed from the expectations that include being the man? The liberty that he’ll play with? All whereas watching and studying from Durant — his day-to-day coaching regiment, his pre-game and post-game routine, and his low season developmental packages. Iron sharpens iron, and there will not be many sharper than the Washington native.

I imply, simply take how a lot Robert Williams and Grant Williams have credited being round Al Horford each day, and the teachings they’ve realized from the chance – that’s what Durant could be for Tatum. He’s the Dumbledore to Tatum’s Harry Potter.

Certain, any commerce for Durant shall be judged on championship rings, and whether or not the famous person truly honors the remaining 4 years of his contract. However past the plain, there’s a subplot, one that would see Tatum develop right into a famous person in his personal proper, ready to reclaim his spot as Boston’s alpha canine, besides when that occurs, we gained’t be ready on him to take the subsequent step, as a result of it could have already occurred.

I’m not attempting to persuade anybody that this potential deal is nice or dangerous. Heck, I don’t even understand how I really feel about it proper now. However there’s a world the place the advantages stretch past the parquet, and that’s one thing that may very well be extraordinarily thrilling as we anticipate Tatum to complete his metamorphosis into an unquestionable famous person.