Magic Johnson Reveals Why Lakers Passed On Jayson Tatum

After watching their Boston foes win the race to Banner 18 thanks to a superstar that their team passed on in the 2017 NBA Draft, Lakers fans have felt their team fall behind in the sport's biggest rivalry.

Sensing the fanbase's growing frustration at the divergent paths the two franchises have taken recently, former Lakers president and Hall of Fame point guard Magic Johnson attempted to justify the team's decision not to select Jayson Tatum with the #2 overall pick seven years ago. His explanation instead only poured fuel on the fire.

Celtics News: Magic Johnson Gives Explanation for Lakers Passing On Jayson Tatum

Johnson expressed that since the Lakers had Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, and Larry Nance Jr. on the team at the time, they didn't have room to add another forward to that collection of players.

There are several glaring problems here. First of all, none of the players mentioned remained on the Lakers, and they certainly were not talents worth keeping over such a highly touted prospect. Yes, Randle and Ingram found success, but that came primarily elsewhere, and neither reached the status Tatum has reached. Los Angeles easily could have traded one of them away for draft capital if they saw the same potential that drove the Celtics to select him one pick later.

It also would have cleared the log jam that they saw at the forward position, a log jam that should not matter as much in a sport where positions are more fluid than in other sports. Having too many forwards is not nearly the same as having too many first basemen in baseball or too many goalies in hockey.

Additionally, Johnson completely ignored the fact that the Lakers were sold on Lonzo Ball. If the Lakers were threatening to take the Celtics' top target, then Boston would not have agreed to trade down from the No. 1 spot and risk Los Angeles swiping him. The team's interest in Ball was no secret to executives at the time, which is a far more likely reason that they did not check in on Tatum.

As for Johnson's sudden recollection of Tatum's agent's role in the matter, that seems the least likely explanation of all. If Tatum's camp really withheld him from working out for his idol Kobe Bryant's team, then why would Tatum have recently expressed frustration that the Lakers did not check up on him? After all, that is what started the entire discussion.

Much of this frustration for Tatum and company was sure to have melted away quickly once he settled in as the face of the franchise and won his first ring last season. Celtics brass and fans alike are more than thrilled with how the 2017 NBA Draft played out, with Tatum becoming by far the most successful player from the class. As for Lakers fans, they are left to assess the credibility of Johnson's comments and imagine how different the state of the rivalry would be if different decisions were made.

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