Jayson Tatum Says He Wanted to Be Traded After Celtics Signed Gordon Hayward in 2017

Jayson Tatum revealed during a Monday appearance on Jeff Teague's Club 520 podcast that he was worried he wouldn't get much playing time if he was drafted by the Boston Celtics leading into the 2017 NBA draft.

And that was before the team signed Gordon Hayward.

"I get drafted, Gordon Hayward signs with the Celtics. I called my agent, like, 'Yo, I gotta get traded.' I'm in Summer League, before I ever played a game," Tatum said (21:27 mark). "He's like, 'Relax. Just wait it out. You gotta chill.' I'm like, 'Yo, I'm trying to play. I didn't get drafted to come off the bench and not start.' He was like, 'You're in a great organization. They're going to teach you how to play the right way.'"

Tatum also said that then-Duke head coach Michael Krzyzewski ensured him before the draft that Brad Stevens was an excellent coach and that Tatum should work out with the Celtics a second time.

The star wing said at the time, however, he was hoping the Los Angeles Lakers would select him because he grew up a Kobe Bryant fan and believed he'd get more playing time for a rebuilding Lakers squad than for a Boston team that had just reached the Eastern Conference Finals and added Kyrie Irving and Hayward in the offseason.

But the interest wasn't mutual.

"I never worked out for the Lakers, they never came to watch me work out," Tatum noted, calling L.A.'s lack of interest "devastating."

"I was sick, too, because I was so close to my dream and I might play for the Lakers," he added. "Best-case scenario, [but] their mind was made up. They didn't want to come watch me work out or have me come in."

With the Lakers going in a different direction, Tatum said he was hoping to drop to No. 4 to the Phoenix Suns. But the draft played out far differently, with Boston trading the top overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers. Markelle Fultz was selected No. 1, followed by Lonzo Ball to the Lakers and Tatum to Boston.

The rest is history. Tatum has since gone on to win a title with the Celtics and has never missed the playoffs with the team, while Fultz lasted less than two seasons in Philly and Ball remained in L.A. for just two seasons himself. In the end, Tatum had his best-case scenario, though it wasn't the one he originally envisioned.