Simmons, Mitchell, Tatum: What Rookies Have Shown About Themselves in Playoffs

The NBA playoffs are the Great Diviner when it comes to players and their potential. Many of the variables that make it possible for someone to look better or worse than his actual capacity during the regular season are removed. Everyone is on the same schedule, so everyone has equal time to rest and prepare. There's little chance to fatten stats against an inferior opponent. The ability to quickly adapt both to heightened pressure and adversity is tested like never before.

It's that whole iron-sharpens-iron idea flipped sideways. In this case, iron discovers iron—and who is made of lead or aluminum, elements that have everyday value but are not ready to withstand the postseason crucible.

Which brings us to Donovan Mitchell, Ben Simmons and Jayson Tatum, the first trio of rookies—as defined by the league, instigators—who proved to be iron men since the NBA expanded to the 16-team playoff format in 1984, per The Ringer's Zach Kram and Paolo Uggetti. All played starring roles on teams that won at least one playoff series, providing opposing scouts, executives and coaches the chance to assess their long-term potential in far greater depth than, say, the Lakers' Lonzo Ball, the Mavericks' Dennis Smith Jr. or the Bulls' Lauri Markkanen.

Tatum is still alive, playoffwise, as a member of the Boston Celtics and is their leading postseason scorer with 18.1 points per game. Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers were bounced by Tatum and the C's, but not before Simmons, in a first-round game against the Heat, became the first rookie to post a triple-double in a playoff contest since Magic Johnson. Mitchell also exited in the second round after facing the league's top seed, the Houston Rockets, but not before scoring 20-plus points in his first seven playoff games and putting his name next to those of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan and Elgin Baylor for scoring average by a rookie to play in multiple series.

A scout, two Western Conference general managers and a head coach provided their in-depth assessments not only of what they've seen from Tatum, Simmons and Mitchell, but also what their playoff runs portend. To begin, each was asked a simple question: Given the choice, which one would you take to start your team?

It wasn't a consensus, but two of the four picked Mitchell. One picked Simmons. One considered all three beneficiaries of their circumstances, unable to picture any one of them as the best player on a championship team.

Tatum impresses, but where will he play?

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Everyone surveyed respected what the last man standing, Tatum, has done, but no one was ready to make him their first choice. They attributed his rookie success to the players around him and the role he has as much as anything else.

"He reaps the benefits of being on a tough team that has guys willing to share the ball and defend," the scout said. "He doesn't have the No. 1 matchup defensively, so he can float a little bit. You could say he has a lower ceiling than the other two. Going into the draft, I was hesitant about him because he wasn't real tough. I think he's proven to be a better skilled player than maybe I thought, but I still think circumstance has allowed him to flourish."

The other uncertainty regarding Tatum is his position—in today's NBA, few teams are building around power forwards, and while he's listed as a small forward, the 4 is where he has had most of his success. Being able to play multiple positions at both ends of the floor is essential for franchise cornerstones, regardless of their primary spot. If Tatum proves he can score and defend as both a small forward and a power forward, it would shift at least one Western Conference GM's perspective on his future. Think Kevin Durant and LeBron James and how easily they move between playing the respective forward positions versus, say, the Cavs' Jeff Green or the Mavericks' Harrison Barnes, who have had more success as undersized stretch 4s than larger-than-average 3s. Tatum is listed as 6'8" and 205 pounds.

"He's a phenomenal player, and he could be the most productive, numberswise, of those three," one Western Conference GM said of Tatum. "But then you start getting into which position has the greatest impact on our game today, and Simmons and Mitchell have that over him. He's not playing the 5 because he's not tough enough. So can he play the 3? There are more ways to impact the game from that spot. Where he'll really struggle is defensively when teams play a three-guard lineup."

The second Western Conference GM agreed. "[Small forwards] in this league move the needle like no others," he said.

Mitchell is the complete package, but what exactly is that package?

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All four NBA talent experts had firsthand experience talking to Mitchell during the predraft process and tagged him as far and away the player with the most star qualities. Those included his leadership skills on the floor, in the locker room and in front of microphones and cameras.

"Donovan's character is unbelievable," said the GM who put Simmons at the top of his overall list.

"If the drill is, 'Who can be the best player on a really, really good team?' I think it's Mitchell," said the other GM. "It's because of the position he plays, the intangibles he brings as a person. It's the gravitas he brings to an organization. The way he relates to his teammates. He's much more savvy with the media. He's a high-character kid. He just gets it. He's a mature-beyond-his-years guy. Among the three, he would have the biggest organizational impact."

The Eastern Conference coach agreed but favored Mitchell because he considers him the most complete two-way player among the three. The other two, he said, were the first two players he'd have his team attack defensively when opposing them.

"He's the best all-around player," the Eastern Conference coach said of Mitchell. "He makes the game easier for his teammates because he can pass, and he can shoot. I watched him defend James Harden as well I've seen anyone defend him. But I was really impressed with what he did beyond basketball. We talked to him before the draft. He has the character and is the overall person you would want leading your franchise."

The one Western Conference GM who ranked Simmons first and Mitchell last among the three pointed primarily to Mitchell's size as a concern. Listed as 6'3" and 215 pounds, he is small for a shooting guard. "Donovan has had the better year and is probably the Rookie of the Year, or should be, but because of size, length and versatility, I'd even go with Tatum over him for the long term," the GM said.

A permanent move to point guard would change that. A hamstring injury to Ricky Rubio provided a sneak peek of what that might look like. Mitchell struggled with shooting, needing 21 shots to score 17 points, but he was remarkably effective as a playmaker in leading the Jazz to their lone victory in the Rockets series. His 11 assists in the 116-108 win included several passes lasered through the tiniest of windows in Houston's interior defense to find a rolling Rudy Gobert for his series-high 15 points. In today's NBA, a point guard doesn't have to be able to find everyone on the floor if he's an accomplished enough scorer in his own right—he only has to find the big man on a pick-and-roll or the three-point shooter in the corner. (Just ask Harden.)

"The big question with [Mitchell] is, is he more of a scoring guard that still needs a point out there?" asked the GM who favored the Jazz rookie. "As good as Mitchell was when he was in attack mode, they were better as a team when they had Rubio out there as the handler. Is he an attacking lead guard in the Gilbert Arenas mold, or can he really grow into being the point that plays the position 36 minutes a night? He plays so much better in motion where it's coming off handoffs, early offense where he can attack gaps. Because he's so explosive.

"Harden is a good comparison in that James still isn't a point guard. What he is, is an elite handler who can break you down and make good decisions. Donovan is a good late passer. He gets into the lane, and then he can find somebody. Now can he run a team? Can he manage the game? That's different."

Can Simmons become the leader Philly needs?

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While Simmons was generally regarded as the Sixers' floor leader, no one surveyed considered him a better leader than Mitchell. One GM wasn't even sure he was the Sixers' floor leader, suggesting coach Brett Brown carried more of that responsibility than should have been necessary, particularly after seeing Simmons wilt when the Celtics forced him to operate out of a half-court offense. He didn't just struggle. He stopped attacking.

"He plays a position where you carry an incredible mantle of leadership that I don't believe he has," the GM said. "I think Brett is the leader, and to win big series, the leadership has got to be on the floor. We've seen places that have a vacuum in that and have gotten beat. I don't think Simmons brings a lot of non-basketball intangibles. That's my concern with him. I don't think he's the toughest kid in the world mentally, as we saw in the playoffs. The first sign of adversity, he kind of folded."

The biggest issue, though, is Simmons' jump shot—or lack thereof. While both the Eastern Conference coach (who ranked Simmons second) and the GM who favored Simmons were confident he would improve and develop a reasonably effective shot, the scout and other GM expressed concerns that he hasn't developed a better one yet.

"I'm not a huge fan, but I do like that he has an overall game," the coach said. "It's hard to get triple-doubles in this league. The one skill you improve the most as a pro is shooting, or you should, because you can work on it all the time. He will become a better shooter."

The scout and first GM are less sure. "If he learns to be a good shooter, he's relatively unstoppable because of his size and passing ability," the scout said of the 6'10" Simmons. "The biggest thing is, it's been a weakness for three years. You would think sitting out a year, it would've been a great time to develop it. I don't think his shot is flawed. There's no real hitch. I know guys who have worked with him. I don't know if that's a priority for him at this stage. But in today's game, he has to have three-point range. It can be a set shot like Magic, but he has to have one."

Echoes of 2003

That first GM, who favored Mitchell, compared this trio of rookies with the top three to emerge from the famous Class of 2003—James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. Simmons is James as a point guard in a forward's body, Tatum is Anthony as an accomplished inside-outside scorer with limited defensive skills and Mitchell is Wade as an explosive shooting guard with the playmaking abilities of a point guard.

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The reason he'd take Mitchell over the other two, in part, is he has the best chance of matching or exceeding his '03 comparison—also, in part, because the Jazz are far more likely to treat him as their cornerstone. Tatum won't be considered ahead of injured stars Kyrie Irving or Gordon Hayward, and Simmons is second in the pecking order behind All-Star center Joel Embiid.

"Every decision [the Jazz] make will be to support Donovan," the GM said. "They're a 32-win team if he doesn't suddenly become a starting-caliber player. Donovan Mitchell will be allowed to be the best player in Utah. That's not happening with Tatum in Boston or Simmons in Philadelphia. It's hard to be the guy, the leader, if you're not the best player.

"When you're lucky enough to be in a small market and get a guy you'd never get in free agency and you can't trade for, then every decision you make is based on, 'How does this impact him and his ability to perform at the highest level?' There's a very good chance there's a player that will help Embiid who isn't the best counterpart for Ben Simmons. Ben is not your first lens through which you look at an acquisition."

Proof of that, says the GM who would build around Simmons, would be if the 76ers acquired James in free agency, as has been rumored.

"There are two ways to hide a non-shooter," says the GM. "As a center, roll him to the hoop, or make him the primary ball-handler. If LeBron is there, that won't be Ben. So then what is he? That could change his path."

Ultimately, that may be what makes Mitchell the safest bet—there appears to be nothing and no one standing in his way. Or even considering it.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @RicBucher.